New Century Zero: Season Off
by requim17
Summary: The heroes of NC0 must save Zi once again alongside friends and against new evolutions of old enemies. This time on Zoids: Eve-The Angel Loses Her Wings. And someone bites the poisoned apple. Ready? Fight!
1. Episode 1

**Hello.**

This is going to be a very long author's note. Why? Because I want to explain to anyone who is willing to jump into this with me exactly what they should be prepared for.

I liked the New Century Zero season of Zoids the most, but I felt it was missing that little bit of edge that the war stories in the earlier seasons brought. So, I'm creating a sequel with a little more oomph but without losing the quirkiness of this particular season. I am sticking to the episodic format, meaning the second chapter does not start immediately after the first one ended. Time passes, just like in the anime. Characters will make appearances and disappear for times, and most everyone will stay in character. I do want to deepen the characters however, so there will be romance, but it most certainly does not take the leading role.

Other things you can expect: Yes, there will be a battle every episode, just like the anime. Obviously, some will be more epic than others. There will be no new characters except for 'temporary filler' roles. I do plan to create a few new zoids here and there for fun, and they most certainly won't be 'black ligers with silver teeth that are also an ultimate x' etc. You can call them 'temporary filler' zoids if you like.

**Reviews**: This is very important to me. I want this story to be _the_ sequel to Zoids NC0 for everyone that reads it, and for that to be the case, everything can't come from my own mind. If the reader wants a scene with a certain character or a certain zoid _tell me_ and I will do my best to include them! Truthfully, I'm not going to update if there are no reviewers, because to me that means no one is reading and that I can write and edit the future episodes at my leisure.

The following episode is short and acts as an intro to the plot line and example for the next few episodes. So, without further ado, here is a return to your favorite NC0 characters...

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><p>Episode One<p>

_Battle Over—Cease and Desist Liger Zero_

_"Yankee Doodle went to town,"_

If he was going to leave, he couldn't just do it abruptly. Even if he didn't have a debt he still owed the Blitz Team.

Bit lay in front of the Liger, much as he had the first day he'd met him, arms locked behind his head and stargazing at the fascinating Hover Cargo ceiling.

"Buddy, we're at the beginning of another adventure."

The Liger growled a soft answer.

"Yeah, I can feel it too."

He breathed in the clear air that he could imagine in his mind as pictures of clouds floated through his vision. The grass was soft and the wind whistled through his Zoid's armor in the noisier moments.

He'd have to tell them to wait for him, and that he wouldn't be gone forever. He just had to get it out of his system, y'know?

Plus, if you really thought about it, how long could he _really_ avoid an S Class battle? Not long, let me tell you.

"Leaving for six months shouldn't be that bad right?"

He heard a clatter and was brought abruptly from his thoughts.

"Six _months_?" The resident red-head exclaimed incredulously. "You can't seriously be thinking about vacationing for six _months_?"

"Spying on me?" Replied Bit, grinning cockily from his position on the ground.

"As if." She stormed up to him—green pajamas and all—and glowered over his mirth-filled eyes. "Like anyone could sleep with you talking it up in here, and at four in the morning no less!"

"So you're saying my voice went through the thick walls of the Hover Cargo, down a floor, and into your room while conveniently avoiding everyone else?"

"Not through the walls, lunk-head, through the vents."

"Sure."

"Hmph." She crossed her arms underneath her chest and studied him closely. If he was Brad he would have closed his eyes and ignored it, but since he just didn't have as much control as the Shadowfox pilot he could only stand it for a few moments before sticking his tongue out at her.

She slammed a fist inches from his face and he yelped and backed away. "I know what you're doing down here! Planning to escape with the Liger so you can try and fight battles on your own! Trying to get _all_ the prize money for yourself!"

He held his hands up in surrender and grinned sheepishly. "No, I swear I—"

"Well I'm on to your plan Bit Cloud, and I'm not going to let you get away with it! If I'm going to have to watch you all night, I will!"

And with that she walked backwards to one of the armor crates across from the Liger Zero and sat down on it. "I should tie you up all over again."

"Heh." He started, sitting down quickly in his original spot while waving meekly at her crossed arms and steady scowl.

"We're in for a long night, Liger."

. . .

Dr. Toros hummed away in the kitchen which branched off from the meeting room. Brad was lounging on the curved blue seats while Jamie budgeted away all the money recently won into small neat amounts with his pencil and paper.

The Doc was very proud of his team and all they had accomplished. He was proud to see pride shining in _their_ eyes over what _they _had done. After all the ups and downs they'd been through, all the times they'd lived on ramen noodles and tap water for months on end, they'd pulled through on not just hope and luck, but on an inner strength that they would never have admitted to before. He'd never seen his children more mature. The trials his own son had been through to gain the Red Liger still awed him. And Leena carried herself differently now. She won arguments differently now. And _Jamie_, the _Wild Eagle_. Yes, he was proud, very proud, of _all _of his children.

Bit walked in just then with dark bags under his eyes and an irate and equally dark bagged Leena trailing behind him and repeatedly poking her finger into his back. He immediately collapsed on the couch next to Jamie and fell fast asleep. Leena mumbled something akin to 'Watch him like an eagle Jamie' before stalking off to her room.

He brought over a new batch of coffee and a plate of toast. (Safe) "How's all the money looking, Jamie?"

"Well, if you don't spend thousands of bucks on a gift for yourself, this money could last us for the next couple of seasons easily. Assuming we don't lose it all in matches."

"We won't lose." Brad mumbled from his position.

"Hmmaphh." Bit sleep-agreed.

"_Crackle crackle." _ The giant video conference screen also agreed, then sprung to life. The face of the chairmen of the Zoids Battle Commission formed out of the static and then cleared its throat.

"Blitz Team?"

Dr. Toros stood up with Brad and Jamie. "Yes, sir."

"We're sorry to bring this on you so soon into your vacation, but we seem to have an unfortunate favor to ask you."

Jamie looked suspicious and Dr. Toros propped his hands on his hips. "Yes, sir?"

The man adjusted his glasses. "A member of the Council of Seven is running in either a Zabat or a Stormsworder."

"Okay," Brad chipped in, "what's that got to do with us?"

"The Count seems to be heading in your direction."

"That explains it." He set his cup of coffee down and sighed. "I should've known this couldn't last forever."

"Where are your troops?" Jamie piped in.

"They're busy chasing other runaways. You all don't mind do you? You will be compensated of course."

"_Now_ I don't mind." Brad drawled.

"When will he be here?" The owner replied hastily while turning to Jamie and telling him to draw up a battle plan.

"Less than thirty minutes."

"Why, _thank you_, for the heads up." Brad obviously wasn't a morning person.

"We'll contact you as soon as the battle's over." The old geezer nodded as Dr. Toros shut the phone off.

"I don't think it's possible for just anyone to contact the chairmen of the ZBC." Jamie said, tilting his head.

"We're the Blitz Team, not 'just anyone.' So Jamie, how's that battle strategy going?"

"_Doc." _Jamie rolled his eyes, thinking it was a joke. "I have absolutely no time. We'll just wing it like we always do; it's fine."

"I was thinking we send you out there."

"What!" Jamie freaked, backing away. "Against one of them? They're probably amazing fighters! I can't compare to that!"

The Doc smiled calmly while patting Jamie on the shoulder. "Don't worry about it! You're in the S Class aren't you? The Wild Eagle will be fine." Jamie seemed to droop nearer and nearer to the ground. "_Besides_ you have the only flying zoid."

"I should have known your battle strategy was something as well thought out as that."

. . .

"Wild Eagle ready for mobilization. I said ready for mobilization, Doc. Are you listening? I have more important things to do than-thank you!" The green Raynos zoomed off into the sky in pursuit of a lone Zabat flying low… compared to the stratosphere.

"Hey, dad, what's going on?" Leena came in toweling her hair dry in her trademark un-matching outfit. The control center was located in the head of the snail shaped Hover Cargo and easily provided the best viewpoint for the escalating air battle.

"Jamie's taking down one of the Council of Seven."

"What's the Council of Seven?"

"The leaders of the Backdraft Group. The information that came out on the news was, if I remember correctly, 3 of the 7 have been caught but aren't talking, 2 have disappeared overseas, 1 never existed in the first place, and this is the last. They orchestrated the Ultimate X dig, as well as the ZBC takeover, the Dark Judge Satellite, and a lot of the undercover agents and weapons trafficking."

"Ah."

"Jamie's taking one down right now."

"_Ah_."

"There's a big bounty price on his head."

"Bounty-hunters! Now you're speaking my language! Get 'em Jamie! I want it on my record!"

The deep-throated laugh of Jamie blasted through the speakers as he barrel-rolled around the opposition while firing intermittent shots at the wings. He wanted to land the plane, but land it slow, and with no damage to the pilot. This Zabat, however, had an in-human reaction time and avoided nearly all his shots.

Very quickly the battle seemed to escalate past the sound barrier, and the smallest advantage in speed was essential.

"Let's see you avoid this!" He began 45 degree turns to slightly raise altitude that way he could lessen the distance between them easily. While in one of these 45 degree positions he decided a Cuban Eight was the way to go, halfway through the first roll, however, he was upside down, beneath the belly of the Zabat, and quickly losing speed. At the last second he fired his only heat tracking missile and hit one of the engines off of the left side.

"Nice one, Wild Eagle!"

"Hah! Lucky shot? Please! That right there is pure skill!"

Physics did the rest for him. He very quickly sped off as far from the dying zoid as he could while the sound barrier crashed into the abruptly slowed down Zabat and crumpled the already weakened wing. He began slowing down to follow the fall into one of the abundant desert clearings, but just as the Wild Eagle began testing out his new smirk, Leena's voice chimed in on his radio.

"Look at the radar! Three new blips have popped up, and they're coming in fast! They must be more Zabats!" It gave him just enough time to pull up to 90 degrees to avoid most of the shots, unfortunately, one seemed to find his tail so that he couldn't pull out. His proximity to the ground didn't even give him time to fire off a single shot, and he landed with half the Raynos he started with.

"What was that?" Leena spoke quietly while staring wide-eyed out of the window.

"I should have expected as much. He's got backups, or drones. Leena, get Brad and Bit and mobilize. Quickly now, before they get away!"

As Leena dashed from the room he was already getting the Liger Zero Jager armor into position.

. . .

"Bit!" Leena yelled, sliding into the level beneath the control room, where Bit was still crashed out on the couch with a very relaxed Brad nearby watching the news. "Jamie's been hit and there's three unidentified zoids still up in the air!" She grabbed Brad by the sleeve and Bit by the ear and dragged them to one of the doors that led to the hanger. She was mobilized and out of sight before Brad could set his cup down. And she supposedly had the slowest zoid on the team.

The eerie howl of the Shadowfox echoing through the hanger woke Bit from his very comfortable spot on the ground where he was just in time to see Brad and his zoid storm through the side doors.

"What's going on Liger?"

The white zoid was just as unable to answer as his pilot was, so while scratching his head Bit jumped into his seat and ambled onto the battlefield. He completely skipped over the mobilizing portion of the fight and was greeted with two of his team members shooting at clouds.

It all seemed a little silly and menacing considering his name, so he wrote it off as a feverish dream and fell straight back to sleep on his controls, seatbelt, raging battle, and all.

The Doc was very occupied at the time pushing buttons and wondering why the Liger's armor wasn't locking into place.

Leena and Brad, however, had just recently discovered the cloaking device the one Zabat and two Stormsworders were equipped with. Since Brad's zoid was a cloaking masterpiece, the one Zabat was quickly shot down with the Laser Vulcan and left a low flying Stormsworder and a very careful one high above them.

"I'll do the same thing I should have done with the Lightning Team, no skin off my bones." The red-head growled while jumping out of the way as the mini-jet passed, this failed utterly as she was blown to the side like a straw-house.

"Looks like you're doing fine without me, Leena. I'll just leave the last two to you?" Brad laughed from his position near the wreckage of Jamie's zoid.

"You're just fueling the fire, Brad." The next time the enemy zoid passed her she let out an entire clip on the passing zoid and crippled it enough for Brad to get it down with a few lucky shots. This left the last zoid that looked like it was about ready to call it quits and was definitely too far for even Naomi's long reaching bullets.

Leena thought this was an opportune moment to turn her back on the battle and lay into Bit for not doing his share.

"What are you doing over there? Taking a nap? Morphing into a butterfly? We're getting money y'know, so this would be a great time to cash in that great luck of yours, Bit Cloud!"

After waiting for more than her patience would allow, she giggled maliciously as she slowly (quickly) but surely threw all her targets on the Liger Zero and pressed the very entertaining green button. "This'll wake you up for sure, deserter. WILD WEASEL TOTAL ASSAULT UNIT!"

True to his luck, while turning his head in his sleep, he shut off the power to the Ultimate X and the whole greatest-machine-on-the-planet collapsed on the ground. Thus causing every single bullet to fly 'right over his head,' literally.

"My Hover Cargo!" Screamed Dr. Toros while throwing up the energy shield ASAP. This, out of some inexplicable, unplannable, and irreproducible happenstance caused some bullets to ricochet. And with the awesome energy produced by the shield, gave the bullets enough momentum to carry high enough to hit the retreating Stormsworder. The curved shield might have something to do with it, but Jamie still hasn't figured it out.

Everyone stood around as the jet dove toward the ground and the pilot ejected and slowly began to float down in a parachute.

"Uh, Leena, Brad. What are you two doing just standing around? Go get Jamie and the Count." Steve Toros's voice came through on the radio.

"I guess I was waiting for a battle judge to say 'battle over' and all that." Brad said confusedly while running after the floating Count.

"That's true, what happened to the judge? They always seem to know when a battle's about to begin." Leena said, rubbing her shoulder where the crash had caused the seatbelt to tear at her skin. This was why she was supposed to wear her battle suit in this thing.

. . .

Toros turned from the giant video screen after having talked to the chairmen again. After the battle they had showed up and collected the Count from the base and given them enough money to pay for the damages to the zoids. That was just the normal stuff though. The Count was carrying a list of every member and their position in the Backdraft Group. It completely nullified the need for the Council of Seven members, and so they were going to be sent straight to jail. The ZBC was going to use the list to track down those that weren't in jail yet like Polta, and Altail.

It explained why he had so many drones around him. And it didn't dull Leena's excitement in the least. That's why she made a copy of the list before she handed it over. Why did they get all the fun? She and her team were the one that found it. How could she resist revenge on the Backdraft? How could she resist bounty hunting? It was giving her giggling fits even now.

"So, dad, I was thinking…" Leena began pulling the list from behind her back. "Since we're going to run out of things to do during these six months, why not hone in our skills a little bit more?"

"Leenaaa." Jamie groaned while cradling his hand. "You're not seriously thinking about getting us into this."

"Trust me, two weeks into this and you're going to be really sick of sand."

"Hmm." Brad thought while drumming his fingers on the table. "I'm up for it. What do you think, Bit?"

"Well." Bit cleared his throat nervously. He very purposefully avoided Leena's eyes, because she seemed to already guess what he was going to say and had her scowl all set up. "…Y'know those times when people plan on going on a business trip, or, say, just a trip…with a Liger Zero, and they sometimes keep putting off telling the people they live with till the last minute?"

"No, why?"

"Me and the Liger Zero were planning on going on a trip for a few months—"

"For _six _months." Interjected the very angry twenty-year-old.

"Yeah, that." Winced Bit. "It's just that… I never finished seeing the world. One day I was minding my own business, and Leon's zoid tripped over my truck. Then the Liger happened and everything just sort of blew up in my face."

The nervous pilot paused for just a second, and Leena threw down the list and stalked angrily out of the room.

"Leena!" The whole room was silent and everybody was highly aware of her loud footsteps echoing down the hall. "Damn it." Bit muttered and buried his face in his hands. After a few moments he continued. "It's not like I'm leaving. This is where I want to be. I just need to finish some things. Y'all—I mean—It's like I was telling Leon—"

"It's okay, kid. We get it." Doctor Toros leaned forward to rest his arms on his knees. "When were you thinking about leaving?"

Bit finally raised his head from his hands. "Er, like I was saying, I was putting it off," He grinned weakly, "and I succeeded." He paused and the three other guys stared back at him. He even thought he saw Brad raise an eyebrow. "Today."

"Why, _thank you, _for the heads up."

. . .

Late sun down now, just the perfect time to be heading out on a journey. He had absolutely no light to navigate his way to the nearest town. What if someone attacked him in the dark? He'd never fought a battle in the nighttime. He should not be excited about that. No doubt about it now, his name was Bit Cloud and he was addicted to battles.

Dr. Toros, Brad and Jamie stood by to wave him off.

"See ya, Bit! Don't come back with a ton of repairs for us, yeah?" The youngest member waved, his overly large t-shirt sleeve wagging back and forth. Brad gave him a two finger salute. He wore his vest that he thought made him look so put-together and cool, and long uncombed hair which Bit thought made him look like he had a squirrel on his head.

The good doc stepped forward and squeezed Bit's shoulder. "Be careful out there, kiddo."

"Yeah," he grinned. Lab coat and brown hair with the same weird bangs that was Leena's entire head.

He tried to remember them all in these last minutes as he jumped into the cockpit and the Liger Zero raised itself off the ground. When the zoid finally turned it's back he was sad to say he didn't see Leena once. He couldn't believe she was mad at him for this. How could one tiny body hold that much anger?

And she was going to get six months to simmer. It was giving him straight up heebie-jeebies.

. . .

_Next time on Zoids:_

"Jamie speaking. Man it's been a long day! Fixing the Raynos is taking up all my time and I'm far from being finished. And what time do I have anyway with this list of Leena's causing so much trouble? We're lucky Brad's up to his old tricks again, and for the Queen he's got up his sleeve. Next time on Zoids, new alliance—tag team with the Red Comets. We're the bounty-hunting Blitz Team! Ready! Fight!"

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><p><strong>Goodbye <strong>until next time**. **Your opinions are appreciated.


	2. Episode 2

Episode Two

_New Alliance_—_Tag-team with the Red Comets_

"_A-riding on a pony,"_

The sun was high in the sky by the time Bit woke, stretching languidly in the cockpit of the Liger Zero. He was heading to a certain place he knew well from before he joined the Blitz team, and his faster-than-a-very-fast-car Zoid was helping him get there. He pulled to a stop.

"You'll be okay out here, right buddy?"

The Liger Zero growled a soft answer and Bit jumped out. He was at the edge of the city now, and he didn't want the Liger to be hanging around inside since there really wasn't a place to put him. There weren't parking spaces for Zoids. Come to think of it, why weren't there places to put them? So many people used them in everyday life. Maybe if he'd spent more time with a Zoid in cities he'd have figured it out by now.

'Sun City' read the sign marking the entrance to his destination. He knew it was known for what it looked like in the twilight hours_—s_upposedly the sun played some handy tricks on the adobe most buildings were covered in. He wasn't here for sightseeing however, but for the only non-adobe covered building in this half of town.

The door squeaked as he walked in. The air was musty with the smell of metal and grease, and the room was dim because of the lack of windows. It took a few seconds for his eyes to adjust. As he stood there awkwardly a man appeared out of the shadows while toweling off his hands on a rag. "Wha'chu be doin' here, stranger?"

The late-forties man with fading blue eyes and a wide girth was just who the blonde pilot wanted to see. He grinned and stepped forward so the man could see him better.

"Ah," The man chortled as he tucked the rag into his back pocket. "Why ain't it m'least favorite stranger. Th' kind that sells m'stuff."

"Hey, Pops."

"What'cha got t'sell t'me today laddy?"

"Actually," He was still grinning and now he began rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet. "I've come to pay back that huge debt."

"No!" The man was in such a state of shock that he just stood there with his mouth open and blinking owlishly back at Bit for several minutes. It wasn't until the young man began snapping his fingers in front of the junk dealer's face that he showed any change in emotion.

"I get it now. You's 'bout t'say 'but' before I spaced out on ya. So's what is it you're lookin' fer, laddy, a new gun?"

Bit put his hands up in mock surrender. "I'm not that conniving! But I would like a place to stay the night…"

"I knew it!" The old man clapped his hands before ambling off to the back to find his extra cot. "I knew you's was after sometin' of mine."

Bit began walking in a completely different direction, already knowing where the junk dealer kept an extra blanket. After rummaging through the shed of old tools he finally found it and traveled through the echoey room back to where the other man now stood. "I'm serious that I'm going to pay you back. How much is it?"

One of his faded blue eyes narrowed and studied him for a second before the old Pop counted on his fingers and spoke up. "Fifteen hundert…oolongs."

Bit raised his eyebrows while tossing the blanket onto the fold-out cot that was just barely hanging from the wall. "I'd be glad to pay you fifteen hundred, but I really don't know what oolongs are."

"Jus' checkin' t'see ef you're still sane, laddy."

Bit smiled awkwardly and put a hand behind his head. "Still sane." He then moved the hand to his pocket, pulled out a cashcard, and charged it on the electronic register.

The dealer eyed him suspiciously. "Didja need a new tire?"

"Absolutely not." The young man held out his arm to be shook. "I am done doing business with you, good sir." He faltered, winked. "For the time being at least."

Pop paused, then a slow grin spread across the man's pale and grease-stained face. "Put 'er there, tiger." He spat on his right hand and clasped Bit's, who seemed to have caught a weird twitching on the left side of his face; as if something horribly grotesque had occurred.

"Now tha' y'ain't m'client," Pop pulled his hand back and wiped it on his pants (Bit was shaking his back and forth spastically-who knows why). "I'll learn y'by name. Since you's a friend now. Y'can stick wit' callin' m'Pop, or Capek ef it suits y'."

The twenty year old gave a slight nod of his head before answering. "Cloud. I'm Bit Cloud."

. . .

Leena was typing away at her computer. Yesterday's forgotten list pinned up above it and lit with the glare of her burning eyes.

_They_ didn't need Bit Cloud, they could win a battle on their own, as they'd proven yesterday. Against _four_ Zoids by the way. They were going to be the heroes for once. They didn't need him to track down the rest of the Backdraft, no. After all, _she_ sure didn't need him.

The information popped up on the screen. **Previous C. Executive Officer Altail last sighted near the Moonbay Mts. **There had been a tremendous amount of snooping (actually looking it up on a news website_—_but snooping sounded better) involved to obtain the hard sought information, but she'd done it. Now all that remained was convincing the team to take her there. It shouldn't be that hard, really, she was daddy's little girl after all.

She printed out a few mountain-esque pictures and sprinted to the hanger to convince Jamie. He was the only real obstacle here.

The girl was brimming with excitement by the time she skidded to a halt behind the resident technician who was working furiously with a monkey wrench. "Jamie!"

"Ah!" The tactician screamed in surprise, causing the nails he'd had in his mouth to scatter near his feet. He groaned inwardly. "What Leena?"

"Just look at what I've found! It's a great vacation spot…!"

The double layered, T-shirt clad boy grabbed the paper, glanced over it, then promptly wadded it up and tossed it behind him. "Looks like brown triangles on a blue background to me."

"But Jamie, we should go! What about the sights? And the clear spring water, and the crisp air, and the mountains we could climb…not to mention the caves we've got there. I heard it's a big tourist spot." She sidled up to him and gave him a nudge in the ribs with her elbow. "Besides," she winked, "I heard there are extremely romantic spots up there. And what if Naomi happened to tag along?" She paused to let it sink in. "C'mon! You _know_ it would be pure gold!"

"Well…" he started, obviously thinking about it.

"Plus, by my calculations, we can be there by early afternoon if we leave now."

"…Alright, let's do it." She cheered and he was grinning like a kid all over again. "You make sure Brad gets Naomi there, and I'll settle it with the Doc and mess with the autopilot on this thing."

"Great! Thanks-a-million, Jamie." She was so happy she could kiss him, and she did. Leaning over, she gave him a quick peck on the cheek before flouncing out of the room cackling madly.

And lucky for the Raynos pilot, she wasn't there to see him turn beet red.

. . .

"Bit Cloud? S'in Bit Cloud o'the Blitz Team? Bit Cloud o'the Liger Zero?" Pop started incredulously, then took a step back and eyed him up and down. "I'da thought you'da been less skinny."

Bit deadpanned, then flopped onto the bed_—_the pilot chair in the Liger really wasn't as comfortable as it looked. "TV gives you ten pounds, I guess."

"Neva woulda recognized ya withou' t'your Zoid."

"That's an old crackpot mechanic for you." He wore his cocky smirk that had gotten him _so _far.

Said crackpot mechanic was not too happy with that last comment. "I had just heard sometin' 'bout the Liger, s'matter a'fact."

Bit's ears seemed to perk up, any news was good news, right?

"But methinks ya wouldn' wanna listen to a old mechanic such's m'self."

"C'mon, Pops, don't leave me hanging."

One grease stained finger tapped thoughtfully on his chin, and he purposefully took an extra long pause. "This ol' brain seem to have deserted m'agin. Look like your gonna hafta bring m'sometin to spike m'memory." He wore Bit's usual grin.

The blonde pilot shook his head disbelievingly before standing up and dusting off invisible wrinkles. "That reminds me, I needed to go into town anyway. Do you vaguely remember this information, that way I can get you something that will correctly jog your memory?"

"Wells," He seemed to know what Bit was doing, but gave him a tidbit anyway, "a Liger dealer in Romeo City s'who told me. So musta been sometin' 'bout the inners of your white Liger, don'cha think?"

"Now you've seriously got me interested."

Capek ignored him and turned back to the various parts littering the floor. "Pass m'the sander, wouldja?"

He held out his hand for the tool, but Bit Cloud was already out the door, hands in his pockets, and whistling a made-up tune.

. . .

The sun would usually be extremely hot around this time, but since they were high on the mountain now, that wasn't a problem. Steve Toros picked at his tooth while he looked down the long slope the quicksilver had brought them up. It was a nice place, majestic, something they'd never seen before, sure, but he still couldn't figure out why Leena wanted to come here so badly. He especially couldn't think of why she wasn't with them now and had wanted to stay at the base instead.

He and Brad heard a faint cackle above them, glanced up, and saw a red triangle dive-bombing toward them.

"Hemeros, coming in for a landing!" Said triangle pulled up at the last second and whooshed to a halt in front of the two stunned men. Jamie stood grinning at them with his hands grasped around the bar that connected him to a triangular sail.

"Hey Doc, hey Brad, hey, where's Naomi?"

"Why would she be here?" The perpetually light-blue lab coat clad man said.

"What? Brad was supposed to-"

"I don't know what you're talking about." The pilot-for-hire said offhandedly and turned his back. The cold mountain air blew causing his long vest to billow and him to shiver.

"Leena was supposed to_—_" Jamie deadpanned. "Never mind." He took a few steps to be even with Brad, then promptly jumped off the cliff. "You guys should really try this!" He shouted up at them as he spiraled downward. Various shouts of exhilaration floated up to them on the wind as he slowly morphed back into the little red triangle.

"What, suicide?" Brad muttered and rocked back on his heels. Both men stood around passively for a minute before the cold mountain wind blew again and had them shivering like an Australian in Alaska.

"So…How are we going to get down from here?"

. . .

Very close to this moment in time Leena and her Gunsniper were walking along a very illegal portion of a mountain and following the freshly made path by some large object. Being in fact _not_ in the base and in fact trying to pick up the trail of a runaway Backdraft member in a whirlwind adventure was causing Leena to feel very secretive and heroic. Like the female child of Sherlock Holmes and Indiana Jones.

She winced at the mental picture; Definitely not something she should have thought of.

The crumbling path led straight to a cave. It was so obvious and cliché that she couldn't help but wait a few moments for the bats to fly out.

Pursing her lips she climbed out of the Zoid. Creeping stealthily forward until she was parallel to the entrance, she peeked in, her one wide eye trying to see as much as possible.

Nothing.

Not even the echoey drip of water that caves were supposed to have. She took one cautious step in, then another.

This could be a trap, she suddenly thought. "Lure me into this cave, then trap me inside forever!" She quickly turned around to make sure nothing was going on behind her. The large Gunsniper stared at her dolefully and she shivered.

Nothing outside, but her thoughts had done the trick and the goosebumps on the back of her neck didn't leave. She continued walking forward but never could get very far. Either "the light's shrinking!" and she would whirl around to see if anyone was rolling a stone across the entrance, or "I heard that!" and she was turning to check for something slipping out of the ceiling or the walls.

"This is pathetic." She finally decided after another wasted adrenaline rush. "I'd _like_ to see you try and catch me!" She shouted, then stomped off with a "Ready or not, here I come" ringing off the walls.

Stomp stomp stomp.

"Hmph."

Stomp stomp stomp stomp stomp.

She growled.

Stomp sto_—_

Something growled back.

Then_—_an object in the shadows, a roar, and a scream. The headstrong young girl was running back the way she came before the foreign Zoid could completely stand up. The valuable time it took for her to get back in her Zoid provided enough for the Urson Minor to jump out of the cave with another growl.

It was a small, bear-shaped Zoid. The black and yellow armor confused her until she tried firing on it. A swarm of buzzing bee drones flew out from behind the bear and blocked the bullets. They couldn't have been anything but drones because of their half-human size.

She didn't have much more time to think because then the drones stormed toward her, and with not enough space for one of her ammo blowouts, she had to turn around and run down the mountain. These were the times she wished she had a four legged Zoid. Or a mountain goat. A rocket launcher would have worked well too.

At one of the bends a bee caught up with her exposed back. She saw it attaching right before it sent a nerve-jolting electric shock through the whole system. Her teeth clamped painfully shut and the controls jammed.

"C'mon, Gunsniper, don't fail on me now!" A few seconds later the Zoid sprung back to life as the bee ran out of juice and died on the path behind her, enabling her to continue her sprint towards the Hover Cargo. She was stung a few more times before the snail-like base came into sight, but it never seemed to stall her for more than a second or two.

Finally, with the safe haven protecting her back, she was able to turn and face her numerous enemies. She could only think of one way to get rid of all those drones… "Wild Weasel Total Assault Unit!" She screamed and unleashed a frightening array of weapons. She brought down at least half the bees, she was sure, and possibly even hit the bear.

Undeterred, however, the Urson Minor barreled towards her. The red head had only just enough time to dive out of the way as it smacked into the door of the Hanger.

She never expected to be trapped _outside_.

"Dad! Bit! _Anybody_! Help me!"

More of the kamikaze's latched onto her, and she was shaking when she stood back up this time. "Where's the National Guard when you need them?" She groaned.

As she was backpedaling she heard the whistle of a bullet, and the bees swarmed back to protect the larger Zoid. Following the trajectory with her eyes, she caught sight of Naomi's red Gunsniper and her and Leon's trailing base.

"Naomi?" Leena called through the radio.

"Hello there copycat." Leena could almost hear the older woman smirk. "Someone needs to teach you the definition of vacation."

She could do nothing but grimace, as she was currently trying to stay out of reach of the buzzing horrors. One appeared on the glass of her cockpit, and at the last instant Naomi sniped it off.

"You're not going to be able to get them all like that!" Leena shouted and tried to crush one with her tail.

"Why? Have you tried?" The sharpshooter shot one out of the air that was heading towards herself. "Don't worry, I've got an idea. Get the bear closer please and thank you."

With no better choice, the ammoless pilot circled her enemies a few times to get them in one place, then jetted toward the other Gunsniper. The whole time she couldn't see them she was praying to the spirits that those things hadn't slowed down her Zoid. The moment she passed Naomi two clicks came through the radio.

Those two bullets whistled rapidly through the air. Leena heard another click, and another bullet followed after. Swarming, the bees piled up in a shield around the Urson and Leena couldn't help but feel her hopes fall.

The first bullet hit a drone, which fell out of the way; the second followed the same line and hit the one directly behind it. It gave just enough room for the third successive bullet to hammer the bear in the neck. It immediately collapsed on the ground, and there was a moment where the bees seemed to waver mid-air before shutting off as well.

"Not too shabby." Spoke Naomi's sultry voice.

"I don't think so." She said gruffly and brought a claw down on the man that was trying to slip out of the cockpit and get away.

The self-appointed bounty hunter barked out a laugh. "Altail, you got some 'splainin to do!"

. . .

"Man, did you see Altail's face when they drug him away?" Leena laughed. "Priceless!" She threw her head back and tears sprung to her eyes.

They were all gathered at the curved couches in the meeting room. Leon sat at her left with an amused smile on his face. Jamie was on her right twiddling his thumbs. Every once and awhile he'd glance up, blushing, and look at Brad and Naomi who were sitting across from them and incredibly close together. Her father was happily munching away at a bowl of food next to the other red-head.

"Well," Dr. Toros stretched his arms over his head, "after this I'd say we're becoming more bounty hunter than Zoid team. We should think of a really cool name."

"What about 'Brad Hunter and the Bounty Hunters'?" The pilot-for-hire smirked and Naomi giggled softly.

"You haven't done anything!" The firecracker huffed and crossed her arms. "Without me you never would have caught Altail. Also, I would be embarrassed to call myself something as lame as that."

"Without _me_ you never would have caught Altail." The sniperess said with her eyes closed and that confident air that drove Leena crazy.

"Okay then," said the Doc, tapping a finger to his chin, "how about the Backdraft Bandits? Because we _steal_ the Backdraft. Get it?"

Jamie deadpanned. "How about just the Blitz Team?"

There was a moments pause before everyone nodded emphatically.

"Well we should at least have some cool catch phrases. Like 'Let's Blitz' or 'You just got Blitzed!' or 'You would have gotten away with it if it weren't for us meddling Blitz Team'."

"Leon, now I know why you joined the Red Comets. Our name is just so much cooler." While the teammates chuckled, the kid pilot spoke up.

"Speaking of the Red Comets, Brad, I thought you didn't call them."

Brad shrugged nonchalantly and folded his tattooed arms behind his head. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"What's important is that they're here. It's nice to have you back, son." The aging man gave him a warm smile. "Leena and Naomi work well as a team," (a few glares were shot across the table) "and we are all vacationing. I was actually hoping that you guys could stick around longer than you did last time."

"What do you think of that? Do I fit into Brad Hunter and the Bounty Hunters?" Her eyes twinkled when she faced him.

He shifted so he could look her straight in the eyes. "Maybe."

Leena elbowed Jamie and they both shared a hidden smile over how cutesy Brad could be if he wanted to.

"I guess I'm fulfilling that bet of ours."

The vid phone beeped and broke the quickly budding moment.

"Hey guys." Bit's face popped onto the screen. He had a receiver on his ear and was waving at them.

"Just when I thought we were rid of you." Leena groaned.

The delay that occurred because of the old system he was using caused him to react belatedly. They saw him standing with the phone to his ear for a few extra seconds before sticking his tongue out. "Hey, Leon. Brad, Naomi, looking cozy." He laughed. "What's going on? A party?"

"Me and Naomi caught Chief Commander Altail today." Leena said smugly and stood up so she could see his face better.

"Altail!" His eyes widened. "He's the one that kidnapped the Liger! I never liked that guy." The memory played across his face and she laughed at his scrunched up look. "Where'd y'all find him?"

"In the mountains. I tracked him down. You should have seen the Zoid! And the battle! There were these bee drones and they acted like a shield. It was amazing. You would have luh-" She faltered. Was this a conversation? She was supposed to be mad at him! "Anyways," she cleared her throat and tossed her hair. "What are you doing, Mr. High and Mighty?"

The lag allowed her to watch the emotion play across his face while he heard her monologue. She almost regretted halting the subject when she saw his excitement and how close he was to answering her. She _did_ kinda miss hearing him and his Zoid mania.

"Well, uh," he finally said, glancing behind him nervously. She could see nothing but a dark room. "I heard about some guy that might know some stuff about the Liger's black box. Where he and the Bezerk Fury might have come from. Weird huh?" He shifted and switched phone ears. "I'm interested, y'know? But I'm a little worried too… This guy supposedly doesn't want many people finding out he knows this stuff, like it's dangerous or something. Makes me thing that this isn't just casual information." He glanced over his shoulder again and listened.

He spoke in a whisper unknowingly because of the odd look on Bit's face. "Are you there right now?" Nobody spoke. "Bit?"

"Huh? Oh, no. He's in, uh, Romeo City, actually. I just don't want the mechanic I'm staying with knowing I'm spreading what I swore I would keep secret." He grinned sheepishly.

Typical Bit, completely uncaring for other people's opinions.

That idea reminded her of rage-filled thoughts that she knew distance wouldn't heal.

"Sounds interesting." (How was a mechanic better than them, anyway?) "Well I hope it takes you a while to get to the bottom of it." She stuck her tongue out. "In the meantime," She spread her arms wide," We're vacationing too." She took a deep breath. "Just _smell_ that mountain air!"

"Aw, Leena, c'mon, I'm being serious."

"So am I!"

He frowned. "It's not like I'm really vacationing."

"Somehow I doubt that. What, we're not good enough?"

"Leena." He pouted plaintively.

She crossed her arms and looked away.

"Fine. I _am_ having a blast all by myself. Me and the Liger. That's why I called_—_to rub it in your face!" He held up a small tape from a video camera.

"Like I care." She stomped around the couch toward the sliding doors. "See ya, Bit, wouldn't wanna be ya!"

He crossed his arms similarly. "Smell ya, shouldn't have to tell ya!" He then jammed the tape into the port and shut off the link. A picture of a town glowing almost gold in the sunset sprung up. The Liger took a few steps so as to be on screen, and gave a slight growl as a hello. Bit aimed it down so they could see his shadow as he waved, then he aimed it back at the quaint little town. The sun was red and huge on the horizon and made the Liger look like it was dripping in rubies.

They could hear Bit clear his voice.

"I just didn't want y'all to miss it. It wouldn't have been the same knowing my friends hadn't seen it too."

Then the cassette ended and the City of Gold froze on the screen.

"See you in the morning." Leena turned on her heel, tried to ignore the guilty pang, and angrily sulked out of the room.

Jamie shifted uncomfortably in the tense room and wavered out a line to cut the thick air.

"Go Blitz?"

. . .

_Next time on Zoids:_

"Harry here! Oh the pain of unrequited love! It catches up to me even here… but soon I will ask Leena to marry me, and I will finally be free. Really, though, how could she say no after my spectacular victory against the Tigers Team? But I have to hurry…before that Bit Cloud gets back and steals her away again! Next time on Zoids, the diamond arrives_—_a best friend? This princess doesn't care too much for peas! Ready! Fight!"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: <strong>So Bit visits a guy who he calls Pops. After writing this I found out that in episode 7 they meet a mechanic who Naomi calls Pops. I swear I didn't know that when I made the character; they are definitely not the same guy. Especially since Bit calls the real Pops "old guy" in the episode. Also, Capek has a name just because I wanted to give him one. He will never be seen again.

Secondly, the Urson Minor is a made up Zoid...sorry. I wrote this chapter before I knew about Zoids wiki so I made up a few (like 3 max) Zoids and now I don't feel like rewriting them. I don't think it's too unbelievable anyways. Also, not all of the pilots fight every battle, as you see here. I think it keeps the writing from being convoluted. I personally get annoyed reading about 10 different characters battling simultaneously.

**Reviews**: I can't believe I never noticed Zoid is capitalized! Thank you. Also, yes, there have been many of these. I've sort of read a bunch as well. That's one of the reasons I felt the need to write this though; a few of the things that I wanted to see didn't happen. I know this whole story is exciting for me, and I can only hope it doesn't end up sounding drab and re-runish to you. Also, that is a large list of possible enemies I see. I will definitely keep it in mind for the future. One of them is definitely already written into the story, and I believe there are a few places where I can write in a few others. So, some will show up eventually :) I hope my reviewers found this chapter interesting enough and are inclined to stick around to see Harry's first appearance!

**Finally, **many references from old shows from my younger days, if you can catch them, oolongs for you.

Opinions are always appreciated.


	3. Episode 3

Episode Three

_The Diamond Arrives_—_A Best Friend?_

"_Stuck a feather in his hat,"_

Harry was piloting his gargantuan Iron Kong through the endlessly stretching desert plains on a path towards a certain Hover Cargo where he would present the love of his life with a painting of herself. She was sure to appreciate it_—_it had taken him a fair amount of time to perfect the shading on her upper lip.

He hummed happily to himself as the giant blue shell came into view. The sun set just perfectly on the horizon and lit it up like a…glowing snail. The wind picked up and blew a funnel of sand lightly over the hands of his beast. Despite the abundant sights, however, what really caught his eye was a very much hated Liger Zero poised with its back to him and staring off into the sunset.

_He's back already?_

The king-to-be ambled up in his cumbersome Zoid and noticed the sad reason the Ultimate X was standing so still. The silhouettes of two people were atop its head. From the looks of it their backs faced him. (Meaning of course that their faces backed him as well.)

He placed a hand on the chair of his seat to steady himself and prepare for what he was about to endure, then sat up. Opening the glass to the cockpit, he squinted at the figures. One, obviously, was his rival Bit Cloud, but the other_—_the one that made his knees tremble and the blood drain from his face_—_was his beloved.

The two talked softly, and with all his being he wanted to hear exactly what was being said. At the same instant of his yearning he realized he never wanted to know because it would probably torment his dreams for the rest of his life.

Then, to his ultimate horror, stray bubbles and pink hearts fell from the sky, and the wind whisked back her red hair, oh so red, and he was able to see their heads getting oh so close, and their lips, oh so closer…

"NO!" Harry shot up in his bed, clutching at his sheets with one hand and reaching out imploringly with the other. "LEENA MY LOVE!"

Benjamin and Sebastian who had been folding laundry at the moment of awakening looked up from their robotic task to sigh mournfully for their master.

"It was one of those dreams again, I bet." Sebastian beeped, and set a shirt down.

"Poor guy," matrixed the taller AI, "he will never know the joy of holding a true love in his arms…Oh!" He overheated and steam rose from his dual vents as he imagined the battle judge draped over his tentacle-like three fingered arm.

Both good friends micro chipped to their mechanical feet as they heard the patter of Harry's footsteps on the marble. They watched him skid past them and quickly hurried after.

Not until he reached the main quarters did he pause for breath, albeit while dialing the telephone.

It rang twice, three times, four. Then a "Hello?" with a lilt on the end as if hopeful.

"Leena!" Harry shouted, relieved.

"Oh, it's you." Her voice took on its usually gruff tones and she yawned. "Why are you calling me in the middle of the night?"

"Oh Leena! I had a dream…you died!" He almost broke out into hysteric sobs. 'Almost' being the word used because both robots knew that when this guy was in hysterics over this girl he was completely un-understandable. "You died on the inside!"

The two could almost hear the girl roll her eyes. "Okay, Harry."

"Please don't hang up! I can't stand not seeing you. It's driving me crazy! Come to my battle against the Tigers Team tomorrow, for my sanity."

"Er…" Her voice was muffled by the phone and they had to strain to hear it. "Sorry, Harry, but we just left the Moonbay Mountains, I'm probably not anywhere near you…so I'm going to get back to some well-deserved beauty_—_"

"But I'm near the Moonbay Mountains." The man destined to be king interjected, "I was coming to meet you."

The walking computers heard her choke while their friend continued to remain oblivious to her attempts to end the conversation. "How do you consistently find me so easily? Is there a chip in me?"

"Our love transcends miles, my soulmate! We are connected! Leena, please!" The lovestruck fool fell on both knees, as if she stood in front of him.

She mumbled and grumbled for a few seconds. "Fine, I'll be there. I'm bored out of my mind as it is."

"Thank you my love!" He was almost in a sort of hysterical happiness.

"Bye, Harry." She hung up.

"Goodbye, and goodnight, my sweet!"

"Oh, Harry," circuited Sebastian, the shorter of the robots, and whirred over to place a fake hand on the human. "Why do you place all of your emotions on this girl, it's not healthy!"

"Sebastian!" The other robot zeroed and oned over and slapped the retractable arm away from their host. "What do you know anyway?"

It would have sweat dropped in response, but since that proved mathematically impossible, the sane one (for we know love makes no sense) kilobyted, "Alright, alright. But staying up all night isn't good for your health at least. Try and get some rest for the battle tomorrow."

"Okay! Benjamin, Sebastian, see you in the morning…the beginning of the day Leena and I finally become engaged!" He practically skipped off to his room.

'Practically' because they knew he wasn't exactly skipping because he only did that when she flirted with him. At least skipping is what it usually looked like_—_it was a very un-understandable skip.

And thus the night drew to a close, bubbles, pink hearts and all.

. . .

Standing on a steppe, a prelude to the Moonbay Mountains at her back, and with the wind in her face, Leena felt like the queen of the world. Especially since the dual court-jester and slave was running in circles trying to please her far far below. An occasion for a smug grin was a welcome reprieve; her ego needed a boost now that they were 'vacationing' with Naomi.

Benjamin had just knocked out one of the Fuzzy Pandas, surprisingly. (She had taken to calling them that since Bit never could remember their real names.) It seemed like Omari had been caught off guard by the immasculine robot suddenly choosing to pirouette. An Iron Kong just wasn't made for that type of balance and had tipped over and squashed (thoroughly she might add) half of the down-and-out pilot's Zoid.

Kirkland and Lineback seemed to be having a bit more luck. At least, whatever you called 'still standing' for the team whom the Blitz team had trampled over, sucked the prosperity out of, and sent mice to gather scraps in the aftermath.

Harry's Kong was slightly angled and seemed to be yelling at Sebastian for aiming in the wrong direction or something. She would have ridiculed the blatant disregard for the match, but knew the situation oh too well from her own battles. Of course, it had always been Bit and Brad's fault, and sometimes they just needed a good stern talking to. Kirkland, the leader of the Tigers Team, took this time to pounce on the fallen Benjamin and tear a limb off which ended up being enough to paralyze the gorilla.

Harry bellowed and pounded his chest while crouching. He allowed his opponents to back up against her cliff before racing towards them.

The two were obviously sizing up their target and getting a good trajectory…any second now Harry would be flat on his face…THERE! A giant wave of sand and…Harry had stopped just in time. After getting over her melancholy she noticed it was because he had seen her and started waving with an ungainly Zoidian palm.

"Leena, my maiden, thou art so lovely that thy knight has found himself paralyzed with adoration for your sweet face." (Adoration? Harry was upgrading his speeches.) "If I could have but a small token to wear close to my heart, or…"

"How about a few choice words? Get back in the game, moron!"

Too little, too late. Another well-aimed blast from the cornered Tigers and Harry was out of commission. And probably slightly banged up. Oh well.

Sebastian, the sensible one it seemed, shot Kirkland down from the side during the moment of victory, and caught Lineback by pure chance (the idiot had freaked and started running in circles).

Leena was happy to say she had expected them to go out that way when she saw how close they had been standing. It had pained her a little that she couldn't have blasted them with her own barrage.

It reminded her of the various times she had hit the enemy by 'pure chance' as she had been aiming for her teammates. Close quarters really weren't a good thing when _she_ was concerned…like that one time…when she had forgotten she had that wrench in her hand...he had gained bruises for _weeks_...

As she was pulled into memories Harry was pulling himself out of a foggy state of consciousness resulting from the unwanted attack.

He glanced back up to where he'd seen his princess and had to blink his eyes to even get them to focus.

She was half-smiling at the ground. He took it as her being abashedly happy that he was alright and swelled with pride.

He just as soon deflated when she beamed a full-fledged smile and reached up to delicately remove the hands that had covered her eyes. She spun slowly and, giggling, wrapped her arms around a blonde's neck, and Harry watched, horror-stricken, as the blonde in turn slipped his hands onto the small of her back_—_then the rest was obscured by a sudden influx of pink hearts and bubbles.

"Harry…" Sebastian bleeped tiredly over the speaker, "would you hurry up and help me carry this effeminate carcass back to the base?"

The prince shook his head and took in his surroundings with new eyes. Sebastian's Alamazer M1896 was making its way over to Benjamin's junk heap and the two tiger Zoids lay in front of him_—_sparking. Obviously, a new Harry had arisen out of the subconscious of the one distracted by Leena and had pounded these two into oblivion. Leena!

His vision pushed him into action and he jumped out of the Iron Kong and raced to beat her retreating back to the bottom of the rock hill she stood on. He couldn't let the luck that had caused her to actually answer the phone in the middle of the night (which she hadn't done since the Friday the thirteenth incident), and that caused him to win a battle in front of her, go to waste.

He immediately slid his hand into his pocket and fingered the ring he had planned to give her the last day of the Royal Cup. He hadn't had a chance then, but today was just as good. Any day that had her in it was just as good or better.

"Sweetiepie!"

She paused in her aimless walk towards the parked Gunsniper. She had been staring at her feet lost in thought, and when she picked her head up the angle left her staring up at him through her eyelashes. Her sparkling eyes and long eyelashes. All his befuddled brain needed to do was add a slight blush to her cheeks and he could stammer out no more.

"What Harry?" She replied tiredly, "I'm suddenly not in the battle mood anymore, so let's keep this brief."

Briefs and Leena didn't go well in his mind either and he spluttered again.

She waited a few more moments out of her infinite politeness before walking the last few feet to her ferocious Urson destroyer and leaning her weight against it.

The space allowed his mind to clear and he thusly cleared his throat. The oration he had planned over many a long night bubbled to his lips as she stood entranced by the horizon.

"Dearest Leena," he began, stepping closer but then thinking better of it. Backing away he knelt on one knee like he knew his princess would like. "I love you in the morning, and in the afternoon. I love you in the evening, and underneath the moon. I loved you so much that I disobeyed my father. I love you so much that Zoid battling has lost its oomph. And I will love you so much that you will never have a sad moment in your life. Leena, darling, honey, please, MARRY ME?"

He held his breath in anticipation and his vision blurred. He shut his eyelids.

"I like you." He heard her murmur, and his heart jumped out of his chest.

"We've had a lot of fun together." Tears of joy sprang to his eyes.

"But I wouldn't go on a vacation _just_ with you."

"Huh?" He had just stood up to embrace her in their first romantic hug as a couple but was forced to open his eyes. She had her head tilted up_—_and she was talking to the Gunsniper.

She stretched languidly. "You're not interesting. You don't even talk back."

He spluttered.

"But I guess an Ultimate X would."

"Leena! I just professed my undying love for you! Why aren't you listening?" He screamed_—_clawed at his throat in frustrated vain.

She turned to look sharply at him. "And, for the millionth time, I'm professing my indecision. Or indifference."

"Leena, I would die for you! He would never!" He waved his arms emphatically and took on a pleading tone.

"He who?" She said sharply, raising her voice to match his.

"He-Bit! He-Man! He-Who-Stole-All-The-Glory-From-Me!" He threw his fists in the air.

"When did he come in the conversation?"

"When you mentioned him!"

"No I didn't!" She was red from the argument, not from blushing…in embarrassment (cough).

"Leena! I would've died for you at the Royal Cup! He was off gallivanting on his pony!"

"What are you talking about? Laon's the one that saved my life!" Suddenly, she sobered, looked thoughtful. "I should thank him. He's tried to save me so many times. I should at least be courteous enough to go to the freaking hospital and thank him." And with that she climbed into her Zoid and started off for that horizon. (In the direction of the Hover Cargo of course.)

Harry watched for a few moments before bringing his hands up to sigh with an air mournful enough to make Romeo proud, then began his dejected walk_—_not skip, traipse, or anything of the sort_—_back to the two robots that he called friends.

After talking to them he'd feel better. They'd eat soup together, then he could go take a relaxing bubble bath and get some sleep. Actually_—_

Fuck the bubbles.

. . .

_Next time on Zoids:_

"Steve Toros, at your service. I knew I had reason to be proud of my little girl_—_she's decided all on her own to go visit my old friend. I don't know exactly how that's going to go, but now I have a great excuse to show off this new Zoid model! The Tigers Team (or was it the Fuzzy Pandas?) don't help much on the rebuilding-my-friendship part, however. Next time on Zoids, the uncouth_—_of underhanded comments and the Undrafted. Deceit's a tricky thing my friend! Ready! Fight!"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: <strong>I LOVED writing this chapter, it was so much fun. I got to write Harry's hilarious BL moments (which helped get it out of my system) and I got to make up a bunch of verbs for Benjamin and Sebastian, ahhh so fun. I've actually really tried to do a lot of research for all the characters in the show, because I want to make this as IC as I can. I've studied the robot's personalities, and have been watching the zero scenes Chris and Kelly Tasker are in so I can tell the difference.

Although, these types of characters were never fleshed out, and are similar in their groups. You might notice that I'll attempt to give them traits they can call their own__—__in order to make their character more substantial.

Unfortunately, there weren't a lot of descriptions focused on the Tiger team's differences. They'll be around soon, I promise.

**Disclaimer:** I forgot to disclaim Zoids! I, obviously, do not own any of the characters, or any of the Zoids so far.

**I **waited a long time for just one tiny review, but I didn't get one :( Maybe a future chapter will win someone over... Next chapter is when the plot really starts picking up, and I'm excited to share it. What do you think about Harry? Too goofy? Perfect? Deserves more lovin'?


	4. Episode 4

Episode Four

_The Uncouth—Of Underhanded Comments and the Undrafted_

"_And called it macaroni."_

"Ow."

The Liger had hit a particularly painful bump and had jolted his sore tailbone. A week in a Zoid flying around at top speed definitely wasn't helping his hindquarters. Why was Romeo City so far away?

_I guess traveling just comes hand in hand with adventure._

He winced as the large cat jumped, rubbing his back gingerly. "Okay, okay! I'm sorry for letting Pops poke and prod you. He just wanted to look at your claws and whatnot. He really admired you y'know."

The cockpit jounced again.

"Ack! Alright! I won't let weird old mechanics who want to take you apart near you again. Happy?"

The Ultimate X skidded to a halt and nodded its head vigorously. Poor Bit groaned weakly and leaned his head on the controls. "I PROMISE!"

The animated machine growled softly before beginning to plod forward, softly this time.

The pilot sighed. "Man, if there's one thing I learned from this journey, it's that you and Leena can sure hold a grudge." It had been, what, three days after he'd left when he'd called them? And she still tried to bite his head off? She always got over things at the Hover Cargo. But maybe that was because she always had the chance to torture him. Sleep deprivation should have counted though. Maybe it wasn't painful enough. It seemed to him that, at least when it came to revenge methods, the Liger and Leena were a match made in heaven.

"Hmm. I'm all about winning, but so is Leena. And you're a complete fireball like her, as I've just found out, so why wait around for me to show up when you had a pilot just like you hanging around cleaning your toes?"

His Zoid growled in response.

"Ah, yes, I understand. Except I don't understand Liger-talk." He pondered the question he'd posed, tapping his chin thoughtfully. "She's a good pilot, but too ammo happy. She would have gotten over that though, since you had none. Her father is the one that designed all your armors; I could never have done that if we weren't living with them. Hmmm."

He smirked as an epiphany struck, and half-stood in case the Liger decided to hurt him again. "Or did you not want a pretty girl as a pilot? Were you self-conscious? Frightened for your masculinity?"

The Liger roared. Thinking he'd gotten himself in trouble, the blonde yelped automatically, but after looking up, Bit noticed a city in the distance. A highway intersected it and branched off to the left and right—heading out beyond his sight. At first it seemed like a gigantic waste way out here in no-man's-land, but then things began to click into place. It was for transporting Zoids—a lot of them. And the giant dome in the middle wasn't out of randomness, it was the roof of the large planet-side Zoids headquarters. All the other buildings—or facilities or office buildings as he should call them now—radiated out of it in a 'all roads lead to Rome' type of way.

"Let's check it out, buddy."

Silently the team moved forward, white armor gleaming in the sunlight and most likely alerting the hidden cameras of their presence. No one attacked which Bit attributed to the recognizable Ultimate X. _My sore thumbness is good in that respect, I guess._

"HALT" A booming voice echoed. He and the Liger Zero complied, looking side to side. Then the invisible loudspeaker continued, "OPEN YOUR COCKPIT"

Shrugging, he unfastened his seat straps and the Liger released the hatch for him. He stood up and shielded his eyes from the sun…and a giant Three-legged _Metallic SPORE-LOOKING THING JUMPED ON HIM! "**AUGH!**"_

After a few moments of the freaky machine whirring around him, it retreated to the dome, and a few seconds later what he had deemed 'The Wizard of Oz' spoke again.

"BIT CLOUD AND THE LIGER ZERO, WELCOME TO THE ZBC"

. . .

They arrived with the aura the Blitz team always exuded. One of chaos.

They had all piled into the jeep and probably looked much like clowns when extricating themselves. They earned a lot of stares that way.

But that was a curious trait of the Blitz—they were completely oblivious to the constant attention piled on them (they were pretty famous after all).

The marched up to the hospital's front desk, unified in their uniqueness, and demanded to see Laon. Apparently they either didn't know he was under lock and key or didn't care. The nurse practitioner gave them a strange glance.

"Well, um, only family_—_"

"The Backdraft might as well be our family," Jamie piped up, "we never seem to go very long without hearing from them."

She cleared her throat and gave a pointed look at a lounging cop who then followed them to the third floor. They greeted two security personnel standing like British sentries in front of a door at the end of the hall (where else would Laon be staying?) and walked in.

Immediately noticing a large window with a roof patio outside, Leena raised a slender eyebrow. "Don't they realize how easy it would be to slip away?"

A cough rumbled from the cot, "Don't give them any hints to my escape plan."

Laon lay on the bed swathed in bandages, a cast on his ankle and arm. Steve Toros approached the bedside cautiously. "Ol' buddy of mine, you're a lot worse than I expected."

He leaned over the head of his friend and listened to his ragged breathing. A moment of silence passed. Then the self-proclaimed rival grabbed his pillow and smacked Toros upside the head.

"Revenge is sweet my friend!" He then cackled maniacally. "Leena, dear, you're looking lovely today. What brings you to my humble abode?"

Jamie rolled his eyes. He turned to Brad who was probably just as annoyed, but found that he and Naomi were conspicuously missing. _Probably off necking somewhere._

Leena pulled up a chair and sat next to the man. "I wanted to thank you for saving my life at the cost of your ship."

They looked at each other for a moment. (Awkwardly…)

"Uhm…thank you?"

He picked up her hand and lay his broken one atop. "Of course, sweet child." He continued to smile endearingly at her as he offered up his next scathing insult towards her father. "You're daughter is so righteous. Unlike you Toros. But I guess that's understandable. She looks so much like her mother that she must take after her."

The Doc crossed his arms indignantly. "Can't argue with that. Yet she's an S ranked pilot. And, since her mother wasn't really involved with Zoids, that must be my influence."

It was the shot heard 'round the world. There was no other choice but to engage in an all-out war.

Leena spied Jamie inching towards the doorway. Stuck on her chair by the bedside, she felt trapped between the two warring factions. "Jamie, don't you leave me here," she mouthed.

The young boy edged further, grey eyes gleaming. He grinned apologetically before disappearing altogether.

"Damn you to hell, Jamie. Damn. You. To. Hell."

. . .

He was forced to leave the Liger in the ZBC headquarters, and even if these were supposed to be the good guys, he still felt at odds about leaving the Liger to possibly be poked and prodded. That hadn't turned out well for himself last time.

An old guy, one of the chairmen he was told, led him briskly down a bone white hallway, silent and unchanging except for his funky mustache. He looked more like a wrestler than a chairmen, like a man in charge, like a man you definitely didn't want to get punched by.

Apparently he was being led to a boardroom or something…to meet all the head honchos…because they had something to tell him or ask him or whatever they'd said. As if he wanted to do that. But he was living spontaneously, so what the hell, right?

The hallway was smooth and white, like the Backdraft's had been smooth and gray. It was creepy. But at least there were pictures and plaques placed every couple of paces. Usually they were of old men or about old men. There were a few paintings that looked like they were chronicling a history. Altogether, though, Bit was bored out of his mind…and tired of jogging to keep up.

Five minutes later the blonde decided it was officially the longest hallway in existence. Or it was round and mustache man over here was pulling his leg. He took in the man's super fast pace and rigid pose. _Hmmm, for some reason I don't peg him as the joking type._

Tiring of his own thoughts, Bit decided to try and strike up a conversation. "Sooo, who's this dude on the wall over here?"

His leader didn't even turn his head to look, as if he had the hallway memorized. "That was our first head chairman. He was given his spot after the war."

"War?"

"_The_ war. Between the Helic Republic and the Guylos Empire. About 4000 years ago, I'd say."

"The ZBC has been around that long?"

"It wasn't quite the ZBC back then. We were more of a police force. We had to regulate remnant factions and wild Zoids."

He clammed up again. Stopped as if thinking about which direction to go. Then continued.

_Wild Zoids._ Tracing back to the memory of Leon's Red Liger he remembered the power of the wild Zoid. _I wonder if they were all like that._ "What happened to them? Why did the wild Zoids disappear?"

The chairmen titled his head over his shoulder and regarded him out of the corner of his eye. His lips pursed while he judged Bit.

"You look like a blabbermouth to me. But you've already been deemed fit by an Ultimate X, and who am I to question that?"

The old guy stopped walking again and deftly opened a heavy oak door in the wall to his right.

"For one, the ZBC had something to do with it. It was a long time ago, though. Nobody quite knows what we did or what happened, but I can tell you why."

He stepped into the boardroom and Bit followed after. Inside sat a large group of people arranged neatly around a long wooden table. Large screens adorned the walls and a 3-D map of the compound lay permanently in the center of the group.

The man at the end placed both hands firmly on the oak and stood calmly. With an obvious authority over the others he addressed Bit. "Hello pilot of the Ultimate X, and welcome to the ZBC. We would like to—"

A ringing klaxon overtook the room. Lights flashed red and the wall-screens came to life. The chair-people jumped to their feet in alarm and a loud murmuring filled the small space. The man that had led him down the hallway moved to tap away at the computers while Bit remained awkward and confused in the doorway.

"I'm guessing this isn't a disco party?"

Boss-man turned a level gaze to him and the room quieted. "Pilot, the ZBC implores your service."

"If you're talking about a battle, I'm always game."

"I'm talking about a battle."

. . .

"Wait, wait! Kirkland change that back!"

"Hey! Don't tackle me…cussin' Lineback…I'll switch it!"

Leena raised an eyebrow; those names sounded incredibly familiar. Their bickering mixed in with those of her elders, though, and she soon lost the point of both conversations.

_Chatter chatter. Blah blah yaddha yaddha. _

"Whoa! Look at the Liger Zero go!"

"WHAT!"

She jumped up, halting the conversation immediately. She grabbed the blue labcoat in her fist and hauled ass out of the room. After a seconds hesitation, she jumped back and wheeled out Layon's bed behind them. One of the guards spluttered angrily and she kicked him between the legs.

She just wasn't in the mood.

Kirkland, Lineback, and Omari lay sprawed in various states of broken-limbs and cheering at the TV as if they were at the Superbowl.

"What's going on?" Laon asked quizzically to his fellow patients.

"Not really sure. Cloud's fighting some Zoid at the ZBC. And it sounds like it's being stolen."

She and her father shared a glance before staring enthralled at the screen. The Liger Zero stared menacingly at a huge rollie pollie in the middle of a huge desert. The background held the ZBC headquarters, who was waving around large guns, but altogether being extremely useless. She had no idea how the news team was getting this footage.

"Who's bright idea was it to steal from the ZBC?" Leena queried. The big guns had impressed her. Of course.

"Why, a member of the new Backdraft, who else? I should call them the Undrafted actually." Laon said this all very matter-of-factly while fist pumping at the rolling pillbug on the screen.

"Undrafted?"

"The members that weren't on the list that the ZBC stole. Duh."

"You mean the list that me and Brad got. Mostly me." So this meant that the Backdraft hadn't been defeated? Even though the main leaders were imprisoned? Who was in charge? Altail? Vega?

Her father perked up as one of his few lightbulbs lit up. "How do you know so much of this stuff?"

Laon shifted uneasily. "Uh, because I'm better than you?" Dr. Toros raised his eyebrows. "Hmmm. I definitely shouldn't have said anything."

"You're still with them! I can't believe you! Just too—" He spluttered in shock.

"I guess this is my opportune moment." Laon threw off his bedsheet and leaped out of bed while discarding the sling holding his arm and his excess bandages. He threw the rest of his bed at the window. Leaping outside he shouted a renewal for his vengeance towards Toros.

They all blinked after him.

"Should we, er…"

"Holy ramen!"

Her head snapped back to the screen. What kind of lame addition was Laon to the baddies anyway?

. . .

Bit and the Liger stared down Polta in the Pillbug. It was a prototype created by the ZBC. And it was amazing. And incredibly creepy. It was a huge rollie pollie with creepy round eyes and tons of legs, and though unpainted, masterfully blended into itself so that it was hard to tell one segment from the other.

He took a deep breath and let it out in unison with the Liger's rumbling growl, running his fingers over the controls and letting their minds mold together. The rollie pollie like Zoid seemed to size him up, then, in a sudden maneuver, swiveled around and tried to scuttle away.

Well, after being specifically asked by the ZBC to save the prototype of their new and most advanced Zoid, he wasn't about to let it go, but damn was that thing fast.

Pushing the accelerator to the max, he curved in a tight arc and brought the strike lazer claw down on one of the many legs. The giant insect fell on its side as a shower of sparks burst from the lost socket.

"We are just too good, ain't we buddy?" The Zoid roared in agreement. As Bit laughed, however, the tiny vid-screen came to life and the blue-haired Polta scowled at him through the dissipating static.

"Bit Cloud and the Liger, always lovely to see you."

"Do I detect a note of sarcasm?"

"I should've known you and your cockiness would be here to ruin everything per usual."

"You should know a lot more than that, like the finer points of surrendering."

"You're right, I should learn something as useful as that, why don't you give me an example?"

"Over my dead body."

The former Backdraft pilot grinned_—_a smug smile mixed with a masked face that altogether could even be described as frightening.

"We would be alright with that."

His Zoid tucked into itself and spun against the feet of the Liger, causing the two of them to lose precious seconds towards keeping their balance while the insect rolled out of their reach.

"Did he say 'we'?"

There was no more time for talking. Even for thinking. Polta had somehow collapsed the Zoid into a sphere probably a third of its original size, and it was spinning towards him like the bowling ball of a pro. The Liger was forced to take its own initiative and dive out of the way seconds before the hunk of metal squashed them into scraps.

They spent the next few minutes running like cats in the rain; it was completely degrading. Luckily nobody could hear him yelping in fright every time the Ball of Doom barely missed their noses by a hair. He really needed a plan.

He needed the Jager.

He couldn't dodge the damn thing, so at the moment he was living on borrowed time. He wished he at least had the Schneider so he could tear it to pieces, but he couldn't do that either. The only thing left to do was face it head on and hope he didn't get squashed like a fly.

"Let's do this."

The next time the insect started curving around to come back at them, he and the Liger set up a stance directly in its path. With every heartbeat the pair crouched lower and the pillbug rolled through the rapidly decreasing distance between. Adrenaline pounded in his veins, and as if time had slowed, he was acutely aware of the setting sun on the shiny exterior of the enemy Zoid and the sand spraying out from underneath it.

"The white's of their eyes, Liger."

Like ice they stood until the grey of the bug filled out their field of vision, frozen until the thing grazed the Liger's snout. Then, swift, he ducked the lion's head down and they flung it, still spinning, high into the air. A bright light flashed and left them momentarily blinded, then a red laser collided with the Zoid midair. The ZBC must have finally been able to get a good angle for a shot.

A half second later Polta's insect crashed on top of them and neither the Liger nor its pilot knew any more.

. . .

"Did you see that laser beam? Damn was that sweet or what?" The fiery redhead swiveled around to give Omari a high-five out of excitement and mostly was able to ignore his wince of pain.

"It's getting up!"

For a moment it was as if they were watching a painting, then, slowly, but definitely surely, the Pillbug flopped onto its side, then stood on shaky legs. The Liger lay sprawled on the ground in front of it. The ZBC probably didn't want to risk a shot with the Liger so close, and so the Undrafted member piloting the stolen Zoid had all the time in the world to shake his head and get his bearings.

"C'mon, Bit, _get up_."

The rollie pollie curled in on itself once again, sat in the sphere a moment, then raced off at a speed matched only by lightning.

The hospital room they were in could just as well have depicted a painting. Absolutely nothing moved. Only the slight part of Leena's lips gave away that she had said anything at all.

After an eternity, the glass chamber opened and they could see Bit's figure emerge. He stood with his arms crossed and staring off in the direction the Pillbug had gone. Leena would have bet he had that particular thinking-frown on his face.

Then the TV blinked off.

"Wha_—_?" She turned to see her father holding the remote and looking grim.

"He's fine. That's what matters." He gave her that solemn look he sometimes got. "Let's find Jamie and the others and head back to the base."

She gave the blank screen one last fleeting look, then stood up. He was right, there were things that they needed to talk about, and probably prepare for. The Undrafted probably wouldn't treat them much better than the Backdraft had.

Hopefully Bit would call.

"Yeah, let's skedaddle. Nice to meet you guys again."

"Nice to meet you too, sweetcheeks."

. . .

_Next time on Zoids:_

_ "_This is Leon. So… the Undrafted haven't been mentioned in the news and I'm starting to doubt Laon's sanity. But extra time doesn't mean a relaxing day with the Blitz, of course not. It turns out Naomi is just as fiery as my sister if she wants to be. Must be something to do with redheads. Next time on Zoids, the doubles battle—transforming into a team. This is the biggest catfight you'll ever see! Ready! Fight!"

* * *

><p><strong>So <strong>we're starting to see the baddies aren't we? Is Undrafted too annoying a name? It is three syllables, which is annoying to read, I've gotten sick of it, but then again that might just be because I created it. I wanted a word different from Backdraft. So. Anyways. My favorite part is when the spore thing jumps on Bit. Oh Man, it gets me every time. Also, Laon hitting Doc in the face with a pillow, it seems like something he would do to me.

Also, did you like the battle? Too long? It did take up most of the chapter, but that's because I need the plot to start rolling (was that a pun?). We're still in the introductory phase of the season, but be prepared for a lot of Undrafted stuff in the future.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own NC0. I mostly own the idea of the Pillbug.

**Reviews: **They had a second season planned? Arg, I wish they'd made it. And thanks for the information on possible Zoids to use in battles. I was able to use another reviewer's request while sketching out Ch. 14 earlier this month. You guys have made the battles more variable, I love it!

Inquires? Want to see more of Brad? Want to see less of someone else? What do you think of the Pillbug?


	5. Episode 5

Episode Five

_The Doubles Battle—Transforming Into a Team_

"_Yankee Doodle keep it up,_"

With a clank Jack Cisco swung his legs onto his team's table and pulled his boots off. Sighing deeply, he leaned back on his chair until he balanced precariously on two legs, then laced his fingers behind his head. He closed his eyes and let his bandana slide down to block the light. The sun was just beginning its fight for the horizon.

He had spent the entire night barhopping. He could still taste it all on his alcohol-saturated teeth. Images of all his favorite hangouts in this particular town flashed through his head. He couldn't believe that one place still had a disco ball… and, oh yeah, there was that other place…he had met the twins there on that green couch thing. Yeah. Irvine City had the best Main Street ever.

And where else was there to go anyways? Half the teams had faded off the map after the Royal Cup, probably waiting for the main battle season to kick off again, and everybody else was waiting for the ZBC to get it together so they wouldn't have to wait so long for Judge satellites. All lame. But the lamest thing of all was that the Blitz team had moved up a class and he'd never officially be allowed to face Bit and the Jager again. It left him feeling sour.

Or maybe that was the tequila.

"Good morning, Jack." His teammates said in unison as they arrived in the kitchenette at precisely the same moment (a twin thing, of course).

"Morning ladies. What has you up so early?"

Kelly shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. "We're gonna go for a run in the Zoids, care to join?"

"Nah, I took the Saix out last night."

"Drunk driving."

"Slows reaction time down by at least a second." Chris shook out her bed hair. She had nice hair.

"Oh, don't be so condescending. I'm just bored out of my mind."

Chris grinned. "We could go pick a fight with someone."

He snorted.

"Okay, fine, groucho, sit here and take a nap."

"Me and Chris'll just go into the city later. My Saix is just itching to dig its claws into something."

. . .

Leena stood in the hangar, staring down her Gunsniper.

"There is no way Naomi could understand the thrill of using one of our big guns, eh? Her little red baby must feel so naked."

There was a _ping_ to her left and she walked toward the small podium that held the in-hangar phone. It was a little bit of distance; the only one stood thirty feet away in front of the Liger's empty lot. She pressed a button on the side and her dad flickered onto the screen all smiles and crow's feet. "Heya, Dad."

"Leena, Leon's heading into town and wants to use the jeep. I was thinking we could restock your ammo. Our backup containers are running low."

Cases of ammo versus sniper bullets. "Yeah, Dad, sounds great!" Naomi obviously had no idea what fun was.

"Yay! Family bonding time!"

. . .

Bit jumped out of the cockpit and paid the mechanic in front of him. He was using the guy's garage for "safekeeping" (as if the Liger need safekeeping), but after the ZBC got attacked, you could never be too careful.

"I'll be back buddy, just gonna stretch my legs."

The Liger remained stoic and its yellow teeth gleamed down at him.

"I wonder if Zoids sleep."

He wasted the next few minutes picturing the Liger snoring and walked out into the daylight. The sand was baked and cracked underneath his feet, and he was glad he hadn't put his jacket on over his white t-shirt. There was a hotel and a restaurant nearby the garage, and from the looks of it, they were the only permanent structures in this town. Or strip, he should say. It was a sort of trader's village created at a crossroads, and any transporter of the wasteland obviously dropped shop for a week or two to see what junk they could trade. He had sold a couple of pieces in places like this before.

He glanced at the sun to gauge the time (yes he still did that, despite the world being as advanced as it was and how much money he had to spend on a watch…perhaps it was how he remained humble), then began his mid-morning stroll.

. . .

"Yes'm. We'll have your ammo in by tomorrow morning."

"And my new gun?"

"Well, the mechanic won't be in till—"

"I can put it together myself."

The young blonde at the counter raised her eyebrows in surprise, but gave in and walked towards the back, appearing a few moments later dragging a box behind her.

When she got back to the counter she grunted and wiped a trail of sweat off of her forehead. "You'll have to pay for that now."

"Duh." Leena pushed her cashcard across the counter, and after the lady finished ringing it up, bent over and shoved it back into her shoe.

Then, grinning to herself, she hoisted the knee-high box up to her shoulder and sashayed out easily. Another point for inhuman strength.

. . .

Naomi wasn't actually playing pool, more like staring at the felt green table and chalking her stick while letting the twins at the bar study her. Even in civilian clothes, the Tasker sisters stood out in a crowd, and the fact that they had been following her for the last hour was not lost on her.

Obviously, they wanted something, but before she could think of a way to approach them that would give her the status quo, someone tapped her on the shoulder.

"You've been standing there for awhile, Naomi, you sure you're as good at this as you pretend to be?" It was none other than Leena, carrying a huge box and still barking about their supposed rivalry (barking mad perhaps?).

To make her fume, she intentionally gave no response, just smiled.

"Milk your silent superiority while you can. This is my new plasma assault rifle, and you're going to be feeling fairly sorry for yourself real soon."

"Sure I will. That is, if you can even dodge one of my bullets with all the extra weight your Gunsniper has to carry around."

That hit the mark. The younger woman's face turned as red as her hair, and the box dropped with a resounding _crack_ as she clenched her fists menacingly. "Did you call me fat?"

Off to their right someone laughed and both redheads swiveled. Kelly was covering her mouth as Chris smirked at the two of them.

"What a cute little pipsqueak you've got for a friend, Naomi."

"Friend? Pipsqueak!"

"Yeah, pipsqueak." The brunette grinned, obviously provoking her.

"From the Blitz team, right?"

"I seem to remember you and your ammo eating our dust."

"I can't believe you think a gun as flashy as a plasma rifle is going to do you any good."

Steam seemed to be rolling out of the young girl's ears and she barely seemed able to spit out, "You think so? Let's battle! Right now!"

The twins grinned triumphantly. "How about tomorrow at dawn?"

"Like in the Old West."

"Defeating a couple of Gunsnipers will be a good way to start off the day."

Naomi smiled one of her slow smiles and shook her head. "Hey now, I'm not a part of this. Leena started this on her own."

She was able to ignore Leena's sassy remark with practiced ease, and Kelly's "Oh, don't get her started on _you_," but what that stomach-baring, smirking, cocky, know-it-all, (she could definitely think of worse names) said _next_ was unforgivable.

"Oh, you can count on me to be there grinding you into a pulp for my orange juice, you smart ass –––

. . .

Bit's blonde head was bent over a grimy piece of scrap metal that was starting to look more and more like the piece of his cloaking device he'd lost way back when Leena's Dibison almost killed him. He looked suspiciously at the weathered guy behind the makeshift table, but anyone who looked as half-dead as that dude obviously was not fulfilling any of the craziness Bit was coming up with.

"Hey there, Cloud."

He turned and saw the only blue-haired beauty that could own that type of smooth voice. That lady from the Backdraft group.

"You?"

"It's Pierce by the way."

Bit raised an eyebrow. "Where's your Stormsworder, and what are you doing here of all places? Are you back with the Backdraft?"

Sweeping all of her hair over one shoulder, she answered coyly. "That's a lot of questions. Walk with me and I'll answer them."

He squinted at her as if trying to see a trick, but then shrugged, slipped the metal piece into his pocket, and left the guy a few coins…for if he ever woke up.

When he fell into step beside her she said, "I drove. Why I'm here is my business, and if I was with the Backdraft I wouldn't be here, I'd be in jail." She smirked and nudged him with her shoulder. "Now do I get to ask _you_ twenty questions?"

"Am I in the middle of nowhere on secret business?" He paused long enough to look at her pointedly. "Then no."

She gave a short laugh and he thrust his face in front of hers—bumped noses—"_Exactly_ what are you doing here?"

"You really want to know?" She paused for suspense. "I'm smuggling a few things to a merchant."

He snapped backwards, frowning.

"How else do you think I make money? As if I escaped the Backdraft with ten thousand pounds in gold." Then she let a slow smile creep across her face, knowing full well the exact angle to place her lips and the perfect tilt of her head in order to entice. "Wouldn't you like to come with me as I make the deal?"

Oblivious as ever, he grimaced, "Thanks, but no thanks."

She placed her hands on her hips and put on a slight pout. "Wow. I always thought a warrior was one to live in the moment."

"The moment, sure. Not a jail cell."

They stared at each other unyielding for a few seconds, but finally she relented.

"Okay, fine. I'll put it off for tomorrow." But even as she surrendered one point, she slipped an arm around his shoulders, unwilling to give up her other. "You and I will just have to find something else to do." She lowered her voice to a seductive whisper. "Would you like that instead?"

He gave her a sidelong glance, still suspicious and now confused. "Uh…what?"

She kissed him.

. . .

Leena stood in front of her Gunsniper and stretched as she took a look at her handiwork. She had first tried to connect the rifle to the head of her Zoid, but that had thrown the weight off, so now the tiny blue powerhouse was mounted on her tail. True Gunsniper style. Naomi would have way too much fodder with that one. It made her sick inside to think of it.

Adjusting her pink battle suit, she stepped into the cockpit and mobilized her Zoid. After landing outside she could see Naomi was already ready, and preparing to find a good position for sniping.

"You and your so-called Gunsniper are as clunky looking as ever, Leena."

"Why you—"

Jamie popped up on the monitors and started transferring the schematics and accelerations from the Zoid trials. "Okay, you two. These are the basic readouts of their Zoids, but if you look closer you'll see I added in their slipstream technique. Leena, if you don't remember, they can obtain higher accelerations by traveling in another Saix's slipstream. Your computers won't be able to compensate for it, but maybe if the two of you work as a team—"

"Fat chance."

The young Hemeros sighed exasperatedly. "Fine. But try and last longer than a minute this time, yeah?"

Brad appeared stony-faced over his shoulder. "We've got some dignity to uphold now that we're an S class team."

"Yeah, yeah, don't get your panties in a bunch. I won't miss this time."

"Good luck," Brad smiled. Leena gave him a weird look wondering why he was suddenly being so nice to her.

"Thanks, Brad." Naomi's voice clicked over the intercom. Oh, that made more sense.

"What, no 'good luck' for me, Brad? That's right!" She pumped a gloved fist in the air. "I don't need luck; I'm pure skill!"

"Of course, Leena." Jamie deadpanned.

"Yeah, you keep telling yourself that."

But before she could respond to that mercenary, Jamie clicked off and the ground rumbled under her feet. Looking around she saw no Naomi and a battle judge just opening its capsule.

"The area within a two mile radius is a designated Zoid Battlefield. This zone is now restricted." She saw the twins' Lightning Saix appear on the horizon. "Only competitors and personnel have authorized entry. Danger! All others must leave the area at once." The two moved into a line, ready to destroy her quickly with their slipstream technique. What had Jamie called it before? The Overtake Strategy? If she could get behind them, their back mounted cannons wouldn't be able to reach her, and they wouldn't be able to turn fast enough. "Area scanned. Battlefield set up. The Lightning Team versus the Blitz Team. Battle Mode 00982."

"Oh, man. I only have one shot at this."

"Ready…FIGHT!"

The Lightning Saix started up and headed straight for her. Naomi shot the first bullet and felt the pain of completely missing as Kelly used Chris' wake to pull the two faster.

"Now I see what Jamie was talking about."

She had about three seconds before they knocked her out. Three…two…She threw herself on the ground! The two sisters were moving too fast to stop, and they sailed right over her. That would give her about five seconds for them to circle around the Hover Cargo. She was already up and running, not to mention screaming.

"Oh my gosh Naomi do something!"

She got no answer and her Gatling Gun was sliced off not a moment later.

"Aaah!"

Jamie's voice was immediately shouting in her ear. "Leena, are you okay?"

She shifted the controls around and found that they weren't frozen yet. "Fine. But minus a weapon."

"Well that shouldn't be a problem for you." Naomi broke in.

"There you are. What are you doing up there, rotting?"

"Oh, sorry. Let me jump down so I can run around like a chicken with its head cut off." She smirked and Leena was a hairs breadth away from pounding her fist into the screen. "Hold on, I've got an idea. Play dead for a second longer, and when they're coming for me, aim for the one in front. We'll shoot together. They can't dodge both of us."

"Oh, brilliant. Except that they can dodge bullets!"

"I'm not going to aim _for_ the Zoid. I'll aim in _front _of it."

She saw the two turn and head for a group of rocks that Naomi was hiding behind. "Now!"

Leena sprung off the ground. "WILD WEASEL TOTAL ASSAULT UNIT!" The two Saix shot ahead of her bullets, but as the smoke cleared she could see Chris' leg sparking. Everyone held their breath as her Zoid wobbled…but didn't fall.

"Damn."

"Let's try it again Leena. One more time—"

"How are we supposed to do that again _if_ _I have no ammo!_"

"A hundred guns and you're already out?"

She lost even more hope when she looked back at the battlefield. "Oh man, they're coming back for me!"

There was no way she could beat them in the middle of a field. She high-tailed it back to the HoverCargo. She might be able to surprise them if they couldn't see her.

But they were way too fast. There was no way she would make it in time. "Well, then I'll have to take the shot now."

She unbuckled herself from the seat; she didn't even have the time to let it flip over, and threw herself into the dusty controls for the tail section of her Zoid. She didn't even aim, just slapped her hand down on the button to shoot the rifle.

The whole Zoid shook as hundreds of tiny plasma bullets flew out of the tip of her tail, a giant wall of hurt heading straight towards the Saix. She heard Kelly yelp in shock just as the plasma slammed into her, taking her out of the match.

She _could not believe_ that worked, and her mouth was hanging open when Naomi appeared on her monitor. "No more bullets, eh?"

"Well, I actually forgot about that gun for a second."

A few seconds later Naomi made piecemeal out of Chris, who no longer had her sister's slipstream to boost, with three well placed bullets.

"The battle is over. The battle is over. The winner is…the Blitz and Fuegal Team!"

. . .

They were all in the hangar with Leena gloating as soon as she popped out of her cockpit.

Brad turned to Naomi to whisper gruffly, "You did great out there." She smiled back sweetly.

By then Leena was standing in front of them, uncaring of whatever moment she would be interrupting.

She was uncharacteristically silent, and even took a moment to close her eyes and shake her head sadly at herself, but finally she looked Naomi in the eyes and put out her hand. "We make a good team. I guess we've proved both our Gunsnipers can be the best."

Brad couldn't help it, he just broke out laughing. Leon was chuckling too, but had the decency to throw an arm around her shoulders and give her a half hug. Naomi clasped her hand.

"I suppose I could concede that point." She reached back, straightened her hair. "But one other thing, girl to girl. I think you should replace that rifle with a pistol."

"So the rifle isn't good enough, is that what you're saying?" She glowered, already considering calling off their truce.

"Of course not, but you aren't going to be able to aim well from the tail unit. You need a gun with at least a little bit of scope."

"Trying to convert me to the dark side already, eh?" But then images of the battle flashed through her head, and how she had just randomly hit the button. She had gotten lucky. "I guess I could switch to a pistol though," Naomi smirked, _oh no, lady, you're not getting away with it that easily,_ "BUT, only if YOU get a close-range weapon."

They both stared at each other. Then simultaneously broke out into laughter.

"I guess I do need a gun for the front side of my Zoid. I wouldn't want to be caught off guard."

Still laughing.

"Crazy redheads."

. . .

_Next time on Zoids:_

"This is Leena, and they really are back. They got Naomi and they're coming for us next! Polta and the Pillbug have a perfect offense and defense, and we haven't heard from Bit, so we have no idea how to fight this thing. But we have to figure something out. We have to win. Next time on Zoids, the medicine man—rolie catastropolie! This is turning into a bad science fiction movie! Ready! Fight!"

* * *

><p><strong>I <strong>expect this to be a very controversal chapter. The Lightening Team is the only team the Blitz have lost too, and so it hurt for me to write Leena and Naomi beating them, even if Brad and Leena defeated them in the Royal Cup (mostly thanks to the Shadowfox). However, Leena and Naomi needed a real bonding scene. The way I can sleep at night stems from the knowledge that it was only the twins that were beaten, not Jack Cisco, who is way cool.

Also, Pierce and Bit? Have I lost my mind? Is all my credibility (if I really have any) going down the drain as I type? Maybe. But understand that it was just random fun on my part and isn't going to get mentioned again. You can decide what happened. I guess my ultimate reason is so that Bit can mature up a little in regard to the female race. But really, does anyone not think that the show was hinting at something between these two? I mean seriously, they wrote an entire scene where they talk to each other in their bathing suits. And then Bit throws her bracelet into the water later. I mean really? Really? They were hinting at something.

Well, I've been trying to figure out Chapter 15 and it is horrible. I'm probably going to end up coming back to it next year and rewriting half of it. On the bright side, that might mean I have a deleted scenes chapter hahaha. On a happier note, I thought of a much better climax for the end, so I'm pretty excited.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own NC0. I also mostly got the idea of a plasma rifle from the video game Halo.

**Reviews: **Incredibly flattered... I hope I continue living up to your expectations. In addition, I tried really hard to keep Jamie and Brad making sense in their small sections in this chapter, so hopefully that came through. However, in response to Zoidmagnite, I am a slight bit confused when you tell me to work my "stories into scenes within the chapter." What stories are you referring to? The oneshot I have written? And to reiterate, thank all of you for your reviews; they make me so happy.

What do you think of the twins losing? Of Jack commentating on Chris' hairdo? Are you waiting impatiently for Leon's Red Liger?


	6. Episode 6

Episode Six

_The Medicine Man—Rolie Catastropolie!_

_"Yankee Doodle dandy,"_

A red and white target shattered into tiny shards, and was soon followed to its grave by another nearby. A third shot fired.

Whistled into nothing.

"Damn."

Naomi was in her Gunsniper, which she had just outfitted with a new close-range weapon at the discretion of Leena. It was a laughable predicament, really, but secretly she understood the worth of a secret gun. It _was_ its lack that allowed Bit to take her down in their first battle.

"Try again, Naomi. You were really close that time."

"Oh shut up, Brad. This is such an awkward position for shooting."

"True. I secretly lay on my stomach when I'm piloting my Shadowfox."

There was a shuffle, and then she could see Leon behind Brad in the control room. "Hey, it's getting dark. Why don't you just pack it up and go back out tomorrow?"

"Yeah, sure. Give me a minute."

She activated the mechanism that would flip her over so she could use her sniper. "Might as well blast that damned last target to hell first."

There was a satisfying _pop_, and a neat circle blew itself into the red center. She smirked.

Her Zoid started vibrating, and with eyebrows furrowed she swung the tail left and right trying to find what was causing it. There was a dot on the horizon. Zooming up with the scope, she could just make out the gaping mouth of a Hammerhead.

Then everything in her sight went black.

"What's going on!" She had barely extricated herself from the sniper's tail when she heard a sickening crunch and lurched backwards, toppling over.

Sparks were flying out of the back of her Zoid, hitting her feet like hundreds of needles. She had hit her head hard during the fall, and blearily Naomi focused through the grimy window of the cockpit. In her face was a giant ball that was slowly unraveling until a beady black eye stared her down.

"Like the new paintjob, Ms. Red Comet?"

He spared her...rolled into a ball and sped back to the waiting Hammerhead.

. . .

"So do you like what you see?" a disembodied voice ventured through a darkness only lit by the panels of vid-screens.

"Of course we do," a grey-suited man spoke from a central screen, "it was created by the Commission."

A nasally woman—"Yes, it's prowess speaks nothing of _your _skill."

"Why pay you? We could just pay the ZBC."

The Undrafted voice, again, a frown evident on stained-red lips, "True, we stole it from the ZBC, but doesn't that prove something in itself?" Now a smirk, growing, "Isn't it farther and greater than the Backdraft ever did with the Council? Trust me when I say this is just the beginning. With your help, ladies and gentlemen, this won't just be about unsanctioned battles." She never said what they _would be about_, because, as a woman, she had wiles, and she knew their egos would fill in the blank.

"Yes, yes. Under you the Undrafted reached new levels that the Backdraft Group never dared."

The blustery businessman was quick to add, "I'll give you the amount you requested, but as a loan."

"I'll pledge."

"You'll get five K from me."

"No, I'll pledge nothing."

The babble of voices stopped abruptly, and their digitally obscured eyes seemed to stare at the scrawny, nasally woman.

"Yes, you make a good argument, but no, I will not pay. Not until you do something the Backdraft _never_ did. Defeat the Blitz Team and the Liger Zero."

Bit and his Ultimate X. She could still hear the roaring of that stupid animal. "Then I guess we're all in for a show."

. . .

Bit and the Liger were walking down Main Street, and he could still spot areas where the Desert Gang had left their mark. There were crumbling corners and graffitied walls that indicated their previous dominion of the area.

Besides that though, this was an awesome city. Truly made for Zoids. The streets were paved wide and no buildings obscured the sunlight, and of course, the many large lots and hangars provided easy sanctuary for many an owner's Zoid. This was the type of place he used to avoid unless he was scavenging for mass produced junk.

He supposed that for a mechanic to hold his own in a town specifically made for Zoids, you'd have to be good. So whatever this guy had to say he'd take it to heart. Not that he wouldn't have had the man lived in a tree on the side of a mountain. Turns out, when it came to the Liger and to sweets, Bit flirted with the gullible side.

Quite easily and without any sort of attack he reached the shop and left the Liger in a conveniently placed parking spot. He walked in and glanced at the various Pteras's and other basic Zoids lining the walls and looming above his head. At the center of the hanger was a receptionist behind a semi-circle desk who was biting her fingernails shyly.

"Er, hi." He approached her.

She widened her eyes and whispered _ohmigosh he's talking to me_.

He did not know how to deal with this. She squealed _Bit Cloud!_ and giggled and he blushed. To his credit, he at least noticed the girl's obvious crush on him. In fact, he was noticing a lot of the female population had an attraction to him these days. Before he'd joined the Blitz, it took a girl a long time to get used to him—and usually by then he had skipped town.

"So…I wanted to talk to the…uh I guess he's the owner. Is he around?"

"Yes, I mean no. He's at the house. He's always there. You want to go to my house? I'll take you there!" She had been practically panting and now she was holding her breath.

"NO, that's okay." This had crossed the line into frightening.

She ran her fingers through her hair and skirted around the counter to latch onto his arm. "Well if you came all the way out here to visit my father, I wouldn't want you to reach a dead end so quickly." She swooned. _I am touching Bit Cloud._

He was scared. She was kidnapping him. **She was going to kidnap and RAPE HIM!**

"Oh Helic."

. . .

The girl (he now knew she had freckles—she had wanted him to connect the dots) had introduced him to her father (who was crazy ancient) and then the old man told her to "Go do your job you crazy wench!" and dispelled the fragile old man aura.

Despite his sharp tongue, he lay sprawled on the recliner couch in front of the TV that was still blasting the Zoids News Network.

"Hi, I'm Bit Cloud. A friend of mine—"

"You think I don't know who you are or why you're here, ya nosy brat? It's called a phone."

He yelped unintentionally and took another bite out of his ego.

"The real question is, can you handle it?"

"Yeah." He blinked, making no attempt to prove it.

"Firstly, you don't get to know my name."

Bit shrugged. "Doesn't stop me from _knowing where you live!_" He threw back his head and laughed at his hilarious joke.

The old man was not happy with this. Slightly on the insane side, he pulled out a shotgun from the recesses of the couch. He aimed it stolidly for our young hero's head while shouting, "**Well then you better forget! And fast! Now DANCE!**" He tilted and cocked the gun and Bit shrieked and ran out of the house before the man had a chance to pull the trigger.

He gave himself a pep talk and approached the front door again, kept his back flat against the adjoining wall. "Okay, I forgot!" He shouted back.

"I have three things to tell you." Bit heard the man start mumbling to himself and the rustling as the gun was put away. Still, there was no chance in hell that he was going back in there.

"One. You forget where and from whom you heard this. Two. You never speak about this to anyone except the Liger Zero. Three. When the X's were manufactured, usually they were made with computer intelligence systems. A few were made with the integration of an evolved form of an organoid. You know what an organoid is?"

A Zoid that looked like an organ?

"No, of course you wouldn't. I'm not too sure of it myself, but from my time with the ZBC I gathered that they were living beings, not machines. I'm of the opinion they're like wild Zoids, with personalities and emotions, and the ability to adapt—a very sentient trait."

Well that explained why Vega said their Zoids could learn the attacks of others. And he already knew the Liger had a soul, it talked to him!

His voice quieted, and the blonde had to lean back into the room and put his head in shooting range to continue to hear. "I've given so many years trying to reinvent the computer system we put in Zoids these days, trying to bring back their organic nature. But I can't do it. It's impossible."

The wrinkled man turned his head sharply and their eyes connected despite the distance. The ice blue eyes were hard, flat, and it was difficult to read the emotions roiling beneath.

"I've never had the _opportunity _to inspect the Liger Zero's black box, so I can't tell you whether he is just a highly sophisticated mechanical system, which is very possible, or if he is joined eternally with an ancient organoid. If so, you have a very powerful weapon at your disposal (Bit didn't like the vocabulary of that sentence). Its crowning glory isn't that it can cut your bonds and take you on a run around the desert. Got it?"

Bit nodded. The man turned away.

"Good. Now Get Off My Property."

. . .

Night fell on the base. It was foreboding and Leena felt a vague sense of déjà vu. She couldn't quite place it, and probably because of that they would all lose their lives. Well, that might have been a slight exaggeration, but she checked the calendar anyways to make sure it wasn't anywhere near the 13th.

Leon ducked into the meeting room, "Well, it looks like Naomi's Zoid isn't going to mobilize until we get into a town where we can buy three tail vertebrae." All day the guys had been working on repairing the damage Naomi had gotten from being flattened by that rollie pollie Zoid, and it wasn't looking good, yet the sniperess refused to get a new Zoid to replace it. She'd "been with this Zoid too long," she'd said. Whatever. The better-on-all-counts redhead knew the real reason was because Naomi couldn't stand the thought of the best Gunsniper in the world being Leena's.

Leon's trepidation was slightly better placed. He didn't like the idea of a Zoid that could sneak up on people so quickly; if that thing decided to return and attack the—

All the lights in the base went off, as if the power had been cut. The reserves went on and Leena was basked in the red glow and blinking confusedly at him. He watched as her face sagged and realization hit her, then she jumped up and ran for the hangar.

Not having a chance to ask her what the epiphany was all about, he went to find his father. On his way he peeked into the hangar and saw Brad scratching his head and tinkering with the fuse box. Leena was preparing to mobilize her Zoid for whatever reason. He checked his dad's bedroom, but it was empty except for a few pictures and figurines. He finally found him in the head of the snail on the observatory deck. The large vid-screen was flickering and Dr. Toros was pushing buttons animatedly.

A face popped up. Well, the lower half of a face. The lips were too red to be a man's, and the face too skinny. "Hello, Blitz Team." The woman purred.

Leon raised an eyebrow, and he and his father exchanged a glance.

"I have come holding a proposition. I'm testing out a newly acquired Zoid, and was hoping your brand new S-class team wouldn't mind giving an old friend a hand."

Leon growled and shoved his father out of the way. "It was you who attacked Naomi earlier today, wasn't it?"

The lady laughed sweetly. "Of course not, _I _wouldn't attack you. The fault lies with another old friend of mine." She placed her arms on a ledge in front of her and leaned down to stare at the two of them. She had brown hair and a pretty face, but she definitely wasn't any old friend of his. His dad held a furrowed brow, but couldn't seem to place her either. "Polta and the Pillbug are awaiting you outside."

"Wait, what's in it for my team? Prize money?" He turned to Steve Toros with pursed lips; he couldn't seriously be thinking about accepting, could he?

"No." The unnamed woman said sharply, and stood up so that only the lower half of her face was showing again. She frowned. "This isn't a sanctioned battle. This isn't even an unsanctioned battle. It's an attack. And if you don't come outside to defend yourselves, we're draining the rest of the power from your base and leaving you to suffocate." The image went black and Dr. Toros instantly paled.

"Get everyone in their Zoids, now."

. . .

When Leon crashed into the hangar, something in his face seemed to transfer the news, and Leena, Brad, and Jamie jetted out the side door, the last two mobilizing as they went.

The base was relatively safe for the moment, so in a line they waited for the Red Liger and faced the last vestiges of light; the sky straining to stay colored. A dull silence fell on the young pilots as they stared into the approaching blackness.

At least the Elephander had grabbed them by the neck and trumpeted into their ears.

The darkness shimmered and a boulder elongated; the Pillbug's legs extricating themselves from its center. With a chittering sound it lay on its stomach and just watched. The quiet echoed. Finally, the wild Liger skidded into the line and roared, ripping the blanket that had settled on them into shreds.

"They've got a Hammerhead!" shouted Jamie who circled high above them, "And it's got a shield up!"

"Which means that they probably won't send out any more Zoids..." Dr. Toros mused on their radios.

"Okay you guys," Leena barked, "I'm the one that saw the battle so listen up." She maneuvered her Zoid to form a side of the wide semi-circle they had begun to form. "It's all about close combat, it doesn't have any guns, and it does this rolling thing—"

"You mean that?" Brad mumbled and fired a few tentative shots at the bug that appeared to have finished sizing them up. As it screamed towards Brad, Jamie dropped a missile on its back, but the monster continued unfazed. With nothing else to do but dodge, Brad released his smoke screen. Immediately after, a short shriek assaulted their ears.

"What was that?" Leon shouted. From his vantage point, he could barely make out the huge rollie-pollie as it emerged from the smog and in a tight turn, managed to avoid the second of Jamie's shots.

"Damnit, I can't shoot straight down!" In a deeper voice he growled, "I am made for aeronautics!"

As the Pillbug cut up the smoke while trying to get its bearings, Brad's voice crackled into their attention. "Thanks for destroying my eardrums Naomi, I appreciate the concern."

"Don't let your ego inflate too much, Hunter, I didn't want the Shadowfox destroyed too."

"The Shadowfox is too good for an abomination like that."

Leon thought to back up just as the Zoid disappeared confusedly back into the cloud for the fourth time, but he never got the chance. Only a second later Polta whirled into free air just yards from him. With no time, he snapped his blades into place and crouched, hoping for the best.

It wasn't the best.

A high-pitched screech shook his Zoid and the blade on his left snapped off. "This is not looking good you guys."

. . .

"Polta, stop playing and finish them off."

"You do realize this Zoid has no friggin turning ability don't you?"

Anger flashed into the brunette's eyes, and with her finger on the connection button she screamed into the mike, "Did you just raise your voice at me you blue-haired twerp?" She waited for him to gulp. "Without me you would be rotting in a jail cell with only your weak and feeble brain as company! Now you listen c—"

The tirade was stalled as a few familiar faces sprung onto the vid-screen with their incoming calls. The petulant old hag and the other stupid men didn't look pleased.

"What is it?" She snapped.

The man in the grey suit cleared his throat. "Well, we thought you would be facing the Blitz Team."

"And that is precisely what I am doing, aren't I?" But she knew what they were talking about. The Blitz Team _was _ the Liger Zero, and _where in the_ _fuck_ was it?

Another possible stockholder chimed in, "It does seem like it has the ability to fight off large groups of—"

The nasally woman cut him off. "Who cares? What we are investing in are the pilots she's employed. I'm not wasting effort on a lackadaisical team. I want to see you beat the Liger Zero."

She ground her teeth together and fury blackened her eyesight. As her anger peaked and began to fade, she was able to finally strive for a semblance of control. For a few seconds her entire existence was deep breaths and focusing on her final goal. Eventually she opened her eyes and gave them a demure grin. "I can't seem to flush Bit Cloud out. Thinks he's too good for me." She turned delicately and radioed to the control room.

"Drop the shields. Fire on the base. Get that kid out here so that I can crush him."

. . .

The battle had slowly built in entropy until everyone was just running around trying to save their own skins. At least they had fairly agile Zoids that could avoid the giant bowling ball. They had tried all number of weapons against it, but to no avail, and he was avoiding another full frontal assault in fear for his other blade. Also, Leena had figured out a cool trick which impressed him—by using her tail as a counterweight, she could turn on a dime as the Pillbug approached her, but she proved time and time again that firing close-range didn't make any affect either. Everything just seemed to spin right off the edge! Did this thing not have a weakness?

From above, the picture wasn't any better, and the Wild Eagle was starting to fear that this battle would last beyond any of their abilities to stay awake. In lazy circles he revolved around them, akin to a vulture, and waited for an open shot.

One flew right beneath him. "Holy dark continent of Nyx! Doc! Shield! ASAP!"

"We have no pooowwwweeerr!" The older man cried onto the radio. The missile spiraled closer to the base; it's trail of smoke a token of what was to come.

Jamie started streaking towards the lone bullet, firing a few pulsed laser shots, but it was too small to hit without a honing device. So he punched the throttle and closed the last few yards between it and his Raynos, snapping the bomb into his jaws and tossing it out of the way just in time. "That was a little too insane, even for me."

The Hammerhead's shield had faded and it rose into the air while beginning to attempt to shoot down both Jamie and their snaillike home. He tried to draw most of the fire by flying close to the base and knocking out as many of their weapons systems as he could. "Can you guys hurry up and win!"

"We're trying to, Jamie, sheesh!" Leena called back while firing a rocket into a ditch they had created in front of the path of the rolling Zoid. It sent up a wave of sand to hide the hole, but not enough to where they couldn't see Polta easily roll in and out of the obstacle. It bounced around for a few moments, then set it's sights on Leena.

"What else is there to do you guys?" She waited to dodge again, but then the only idea left came to her, and she lay the Gunsniper's head on the ground.

"Leena, what are you doing?" Leon yelled from the other side of the battlefield.

"It's what Bit did. He flung it up into the air with his nose."

"Like a seal?" Brad questioned and raised his eyebrows.

Leon did not like the look of his baby sister practically bowing to the approaching Zoid, and just because the Liger Zero could throw this thing into the air didn't mean her flimsy Zoid could. His father screamed into the radio, "Leena! Your cockpit is too close to your nose! You're going to be squashed! MOVE!"

"There's no time!" He shouted in return, and skidded to a halt in front of her Zoid while pressing his Liger as close to the ground as possible. (He didn't know when he started running, but he was glad he did.) "A Liger's a Liger, right?"

Then the Pillbug smashed into his nose and with two hands on the lever, he yanked the Red Liger's head back and threw the still spinning Zoid into the air.

"Wild Weasal Total Assault Unit!"

The massive amount of ammo hammered into the unbreakable Zoid and it started spinning erratically, but it also began descending rapidly downwards.

"Leon, it's going to land on you!"

His nose was sparking, so this was probably the only time they were going to get the bug in the air like this. He couldn't just move and let it eventually roll over all of them. So he decided to do something incredibly stupid, something Bit would do.

Instead of moving he flipped over onto his side and released his remaining blade. Leena shrieked and he shut his eyes. Then there was the roaring of breaking metal and a huge thud. He cracked open his eyes and wasn't dead.

He heard clapping through the ringing in his ears. "Ya Hah! The battle is over! The winner is..the Blitz Team!" His father cheered, and then Naomi laughed and added, "and the Red Comets!"

The second thing he noticed was the air battle as the Hammerhead passed into his vision. Jamie was flying circles around it, but he wasn't doing much damage. He started to get a little nervous when both flyers didn't _leave_ his vision. They were getting bigger. Definitely bigger. Definitely closer. He tried to move but his Zoid stirred feebly in place. Confused, he looked backwards and only then noticed that his blade held a skewered and limp Pillbug.

"Whoa," was about all he could manage.

A few surprised yells echoed each other and he glanced up to come face to face with the entire bloated shark. He ducked underneath the protection of his arms and watched as the belly of the beast scraped against the glass of his cockpit and its jaws snapped shut on the Pillbug. With a quick change in direction, the Zoid and his only surviving blade were wrenched off of the Red Liger and carried away into the air.

A moment later, the Raynos landed heavily beside him.

"Whew! Yeah, run in fear you maggots!" Then the young aviator took a look around the battlefield, particularly noticing Leon's mangled Zoid. "Three against one and you guys _barely _win?"

Leon would have laughed, but his head was still pounding. His sister stuck up for him. "Eagleman, you better be on dry ground and calling yourself Jamie in the next half-second, or you're going to get your face punched in!"

. . .

_Click._

The last donor hung up and left the lady leader of the renewed Backdraft livid.

_How dare he? How dare they? "_The entire battle, Cloud and the Ultimate X just, what, sat back and enjoyed the show? Oh Blitz Team, the title of S Class has made you a tad too cocky."

There was a _ping_ and Polta's face popped onto the screen in front of her. She had requested a conversation with him. His eyes were wide with fear and a trail of sweat dribbled along his neck.

She gave him a good long glare and then closed the connection.

"I'll show you, Bit Cloud. I'll show you all for making me look like a fool."

. . .

_Next time on Zoids:_

"It's your favorite friendly junk dealer, me! While in Romeo City I ran into a bunch of old friends, and when I say a bunch, I mean it. It's a blast from the past! Which is usually a good thing, but half of them (especially Leena) seriously want to maim the Liger and I! And hey, what's this; the leader of the Undrafted has a grudge against me? Next time on Zoids, the unveiling—the desert gang reunites. We beat them once, we can beat them again. Ready! Fight!"

* * *

><p><strong>If <strong>anybody read my last Zoid fic, you know that I wrote it because of a random sentence that popped into my head. And yeah, it's happened again. I wrote this entire EPIC tale because of this chapter. "The Medicine Man—Rolie Catastropolie! This is turning into a bad science fiction movie!" I swear. I know I'm crazy. What's strange though is that this was one of the absolute hardest chapters to write. Your first real introduction to the female leader of the Undrafted. Bit meeting this dude that's supposed to give him all this information. The battle; I had no idea how to end it for so long.

Also, I was looking back at my Zoids oneshot (and noticing how different my writing is now), and reading its reviews. Because of this, I absolutely have to dedicate this chapter to Winnow for giving me the best review of my life. Thank you, Winnow.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own NC0. I mostly own the idea for the Pillbug. I only partially own the old mechanic—because he's based on Clint Eastwood from Gran Torino.

**Reviews: **Thank you, Randomcat, for doubling my reviews :) I'm glad you seem to like everything so far. Also, to Zoids Fanatic who sent me a list of Zoids to possibly include, I changed my mind on how I was using your list. Earlier, I was going to try and just include one or two in a battle scene, but now I'm including a few more, and for those that don't make it, I will use them in conversations. I'm having a lot of fun finding ways to include everything.

Do you consider the battle scene too unconventional? Too boring? Who do you think the new evil lady is? Are you wondering where Harry is?


	7. Episode 7

Episode Seven

_The Unveiling—The Desert Gang Reunites_

_"Mind the music and the step,"_

"This is a good day." Bit yawned while stretching his arms above his head. He had just walked out of the last Zoids Parts store on his list and was feeling mighty grand. "I can't remember not being in debt. This is an interesting feeling." He stuffed his gloved hands in the pockets of his jacket and began strolling down the Main Street of Romeo City. "I think I'll thank the Liger again for being such a beast of a Zoid and helping me not be so broke!"

So he walked and whistled and ogled all the Zoids inside the many garages and shops on the street. He made sure to give the one with the rabid fangirl a wide berth.

"Hmm." To his left a garage was testing and repairing a Shield Liger whose large pink shield would pulsate and ripple, then fizzle out. He made an abrupt turn into the building and the automatic doors slid shut behind him. A strange popping sound followed a moment later, but he paid no heed and instead approached the Liger and focused on its broken energy mechanism.

So he didn't notice the man who's mouth dropped open as he pointed at a circular crack in the glass doors. "Was that a bullet?"

Many minutes passed, after which Bit was grinning like the Zoid maniac he was.

"Dude, thanks for your help." A mechanic in a grey jumpsuit said.

"No problem! I just wanted to see how a shield worked." As he walked towards the glass doors he turned to wave goodbye and smacked straight into a woman. "Oops! Sorry, babe."

He stepped around her and grimaced. "Bit, try not to have a picture of yourself getting punched in the face plastered all over the news." So, he continued his walk down the street, planning to head straight back to the Liger.

His shoelace caught a bramble in the sidewalk, he paused to pull it out, and a squirrel that was about a foot in front of him perching on a trashcan dropped dead.

"Squirrelman?" He took a step forward and then crouched down to inspect the tiny creature. A small lamp that hooked onto the shop next to him exploded. "This is getting strange."

He stood up and carefully walked over the rodent's head guts and almost got a good and normal stroll going again when the shop door he was passing opened with a bang and a man in a ski mask came tearing out.

"AH!" He cried and the man turned on his heel and headed straight for him, carrying a bag probably holding a lot of expensive Zoid tidbits. He waved his hands in front of himself for protection.

Like magic, the thief dropped the bag while shouting "My arm!" and was soon tackled by the mob that had followed him out of the store. The crowd pooled around the two of them to watch a few cops try and simultaneously bandage and handcuff the bleeding man.

Some tool-belted man came up to Bit, wide-eyed as he was, and shook his hand. "Thanks. Shooting him was a little unnecessary though."

While somebody else clapped him on the back, he began making a distinctive effort to escape. Bit had just ducked through the edge of the mob, and gotten hit with a bejeweled purse, when he noticed a familiar looking jeep parked in the distance. Two figures leaned against the side doors and were watching the chaos that had erupted around them, shrugging their shoulders.

One had a squirrel on his head and the other wore a really short skirt.

Brad? Naomi?

. . .

She met her brother on the couches in the meeting room. His chin was propped in his hand and his head was bandaged up nicely. "Are you going to come into town with me?" She asked.

He leaned back against the couch and patted the seat next to him. She sat down. "Why didn't you go with dad?"

"He and Jamie left really early this morning," she stuck her tongue out in disgust at the thought of waking up in those hours, "to get fuel and new battery packs."

"And I'm guessing Brad and Naomi are nowhere to be found." She nodded and he chuckled. "So I was your last resort?"

"No!" She put her fists on her hips. "You're always my first option, Leon."

He laughed again. "What a charmer you are."

She grinned and hugged his left arm. "Works to my benefit. So, are you coming with me? You have to get new blades anyways."

His face returned to the pensive stare she had walked in on. "I don't think so, Leena, I think rest and relaxation is what the doctor prescribed. Someone needs to watch the base anyways."

She huffed. "Leon! I don't want to walk alone!"

He ignored her protests and patted her on the back. "You can't trick me, baby sis, I happen to know that you can easily protect yourself."

"Oh, fine." She walked off towards the hangar. "My own flesh and blood abandons me to a foreign city! Even Bit would have gone with me." She glanced over her shoulder at Leon, but he just smiled back at her. "Ugh."

. . .

She rode her Gunsniper into town and dropped it off in a garage. She felt like shopping, but that was less fun when she had no one to buy her stuff. So she went to a gun shop instead, her second favorite thing to do, and sold back her plasma rifle in exchange for a plasma pistol for her tail. Only a little scope, but it would please Naomi and still give her control over the tail unit.

There wasn't much else to do if you were alone in a town (she certainly wasn't going to order a table _for one_), so she contemplated searching for her father and Jamie while tossing her new gun into the cockpit of her Zoid.

As she stepped into the bustle of the sidewalk, she decided against it. "I doubt I could find them in this mess." What was there for a girl to do?

So Leena let her feet carry her, eventually passing through antique shops and paraphernalia stores alike. There had been a particularly accidentally humorous musical box with a dancing elephant that she should of snagged, but alas, she had a reputation to uphold.

In light of this fact, she headed a few streets over to a more Zoidian district and searched for an armory. _I can get Leon some blades. Some really cool ones. He'll thank me for it later._ As she approached, she recognized a name from one of her father's magazine subscriptions, which probably made it one of the most techno-geeky Liger shops in the city. Good that she stumbled across it then.

She entered and turned her head, looking for someone who seemed like they knew what was going on in this giant place, and smacked flush against some man. Just above her left ear she felt him say "Oops, sorry, babe," while distractedly placing his hands on her waist and steering himself around her. Her jaw dropped open.

The nerve! To walk into her and then put his hands all over her…she had beaten other guys to within an inch of their lives for much less. And this prick wouldn't have gotten away with it either if his hands hadn't left her feeling…feeling what? Nothing of course.

She flushed, pinched herself, then walked forwards to a large Liger that stood in front of her. A mechanic dressed in grey wiped his brow on his greasy sleeve. "I need two blades for a Blade Liger. Whom do I talk to about that?"

"You can talk to me about anything." He replied suavely.

She glowered.

"Let's check if there's anything that suits you. If there's nothing in stock, I'll show you the order list." He moved towards a wall that held all kinds of additions for a Liger, beckoning her to follow. "What does a pretty thing like you want with Liger blades anyways?"

She almost said 'to stab you with' but kept her mouth shut. Her self-control was off the charts today.

He pointed at a pair of small yellow blades. "Those look good?"

"Those baby things? Don't make me laugh." She gave him a slap on the back. His eyes widened and he coughed, probably just realizing to stop with the lewd comments before she ripped his tongue out. "How about you show me something good now?" Two black blades caught her attention. "Now, that's what I'm talking about. Those look lethal."

"Uhm," he said while taking a step away from her, "those are probably a little out of your price range."

"Excuse me! Do you know who I am?" She was just about to give the fool a piece of her mind when someone grabbed her shoulder and whirled her around. "Hey, I'm talking over here!" She yelled.

"Leena. I thought it was you." She blinked, confused, and then Bit grinned at her. "Y'know, I walked past you a second ago. And I thought you were some woman!" He threw back his head and guffawed.

She shoved him in the shoulder, but provided a witty retort. "Y'know what's really funny? I thought you were some asshole. So it looks like we were both right!"

"Sadly, this isn't your deranged dream world."

She raised her right hand and slapped him hard across the face.

He yelped. "Let's redo that, shall we? What's…up?"

She raised a fist, so he caught it. She tried with her other but he caught that hand too. "Okay, maybe I deserved the first one, but I don't deserve to get slugged in the middle of Romeo City!" She scowled and dug her teeth into his neck.

He shouted in surprise. "Get off of me, you crazy woman!"

She unclamped her jaw and withdrew her head. He dropped her hands. Calmly, as if she _didn't_ have his blood on her lips, she said, "So now you agree that I'm a woman?"

He grinned and his mouth opened, ready to harass her, but then he thought better of it. "Of course."

Leena frowned, accepting the answer, then grabbed a fistful of his jacket and shook him. "Why didn't you call after you fought the Pillbug? It came after us! You could have spared a warning!"

The incredulity on his face made her stop. "It attacked you?"

Someone cleared their throat and the two of them turned their heads to look at the guy in grey. He was tugging at the collar of his coverall and looking altogether awkward. "I'm still in the room, in case you forgot." By the way they stared at him he gathered they did. Then they glanced back at each other and immediately jumped apart. Obviously they hadn't noticed how close they had been either. "Do you still need some blades, lady?"

"Yes, the black ones please." She replied sweetly.

"What are you getting serrated blades of death for?" Bit questioned, raising his eyebrows.

"Leon needs new ones." She grinned. "They were destroyed in the battle. It was the most awesome fight I've ever seen. And you weren't even in it, that should knock your ego down a few notches, eh?"

"First of all, it is not possible for anything to be as cool as the Liger Zero. Second, Leon will not want those torture devices."

She crossed her arms with a huff, but tilted her head, listening.

"The first time I ever saw Leon battle, he took out a Zoid using the shield of his Liger. So," he pointed at a pair of dark blue blades, "you should get those Metal-Zi double edged type. He's just the kind of person who would attack backwards.

"Plus, it runs in the family. You're all backwards in the head." His chuckle quickly turned into his loud laugh, and before he had a chance to regain any sort of sense, she had leapt at him with hands outstretched_—_ready to throttle him until he begged for forgiveness.

. . .

Two young men with choppy black hair were on their bellies overlooking Main Street from a tall building. One had a black rifle pointed at a large crowd surrounding a police car, scanning the area back and forth.

"I lost him, man."

"What do you mean you lost him, Jubon!" This guy had a radio in his hand and gave the shooter a good whack with it.

"I mean I lost him! He just disappeared!"

"McNair's going to hit us good for this one."

The cousins looked at each other and gulped, then radioed back to headquarters and relayed the news.

"Idiots." McNair replied tersely before cutting off the connection.

"It was nice knowing you, Kishon." Jubon moaned grimly and lay the gun down.

"Oh please, get over it. We're good pilots; McNair got us out of jail for a reason."

"Yeah maybe, but that bitch is calling all the shots now."

Just then the radio crackled and McNair's rough voice brought them to attention. "The missus says pack up and get your asses back here. She's got our Sinkers. We'll get our revenge the old-fashioned way."

"_Alright!_" Kishon grinned and grabbed the back of his partner's neck. "The Desert Gang is back!"

. . .

Back at the Hovercargo, Bit was sitting on the kitchen counter.

"So Jamie, it appears you've gotten better at boiling water."

"It's spaghetti." He looked up at him with grey mirth-filled eyes, "With the way all of you eat, it takes me three hours to make it all!"

"Sorry, kid." He chuckled, then patted him on the head. "I sure missed your home cooking though, and Leena's food."

"I bet you didn't miss the beatings." Jamie laughed and the blonde pilot grimaced, rubbing his cheek where her handprint probably still was.

Leon walked in with a few more boxes of pasta and dumped them into a second pot of boiling water. "Hey, Bit. Glad to see you stopped by. I had heard that you ran into Leena."

"Yeah, literally." He winced in memory of her abusiveness, but after a second thought realized he _didn't really_ _mind_ bumping into her.

"Thanks for the input on the blades. They were affordable too."

"Yeah, no problem. The dude there owed me a favor anyways, and Leena can be real scary when she wants to. Doc!"

"Hello!" Dr. Toros replied cheerfully before turning to Jamie. "I've been looking for you! I found this great update for the Hover Cargo, so please give me the cashcard you hid."

"No way!" Jamie cried, flustered, "It's probably super expensive and will use up all of our prize money!"

"No it won't; we're rich!"

"We won't be if I let you get at the savings account."

"Wow, look at Jamie cracking that whip!" Bit and Leon broke into laughter; a stern Jamie and a pouting Doc wasn't something you got to see everyday.

Suddenly, there was a jolt and the entire ship rocked to the side. Bit slid off the counter with a yelp and Jamie was forced to catch the pot of boiling spaghetti as it splashed onto him.

"Hot! Hot!"

"What was that?"

"Oh _Helic_ that burns!"

Leena skidded into the lounge at that moment, her eyes wide and panicked as she grabbed theirs. "Those sand-stingrays are attacking again!"

"I though they were imprisoned?" Bit shouted back over the roar of shooting.

"Well certainly not anymore! They definitely aren't ghosts!" She grabbed Bit and Jamie by the collars of their shirts and dragged them forward. "And Brad saw the Hammerhead!" Then she disappeared out the side door with the two boys.

"They're attacking again _already_?" Leon grimaced, "Plus the Red Liger is in no shape to fight. Neither is Naomi's Gunsniper."

"We've got those two turrets at the top of the cargo. Get your teammate up there and protect my base!"

. . .

"Mobilizing Liger Zero JAGER!" Bit launched himself into the fray. Jamie was peppering the Sinkers with gunfire from his Raynos, and with the help of Leon and Naomi a battle line had been set up, but it wasn't going to last for long, especially with the speed these stingrays had.

"Hello, Blitz team! Never thought you'd see me again didja?"

"And who exactly are you?" Brad replied to the man that had popped up on all of their vid-screens. He had close-cropped black hair and a wicked widow's peak. If Dr. Laon had a son…

"McNair. The leader of the Desert Gang, and you would do well to remember me." Another slightly more familiar boy scowled at them next. "And I'm Kishon, and with the help of the Undrafted, today we'll be digging your graves!"

"Nobody move." Leena whispered, "I've got them all targeted."

Suddenly, three stingrays broke from the shifting ranks in a V formation and Brad had to leap into the air to stop it.

"Wild Weasal Total Assault!"

He was able to shoot them down from his vantage point, but Leena shrieked and a bullet hit his leg, sending the Shadowfox spinning to the ground. "Helic, Leena! You could have waited another half second!" He swore as he righted himself, but none of his teammates seemed to pay him any attention.

"What happened?" Leena cried. Her Gunsniper was half submerged into the dirt, as if a hole had opened up underneath her left leg.

The Raynos roared and dived at a stingray that was trying to shoot at her while she was down. "It was a Cobra! It must be hiding under the battlefield."

"There's probably more of them." Bit added as he avoided a burst of gunfire.

Brad made a cursory glance around the zone as he tried to cut off another wave of Sinkers. There were a lot of craters, probably from the shots of hers that went wild. However, about half of the army had been hit and had fallen back, so it wasn't a complete waste.

Leena shrieked again and ducked her Zoid's head as Jamie shot down another stingray that had tried a kamikaze attack. It came to rest just inches from her Zoid. "Somebody get me out of this ditch!"

Bit glanced over his shoulder. "To tell you the truth, Leena, you're probably safest behind that blast shield."

"Bit, I said GET ME OUT!" She started thrashing around again with her tail, but her Zoid was too ungainly to lift itself out.

As Bit turned his back on the battle and Jamie swooped down to cover him, the frozen Sinker suddenly flew from the ground and crashed into the Jager's chest. The ground exploded in front of Leena and a Cobra shot out of the ground and wound itself around her Gunsniper's neck, trying to drag her the rest of the way under.

She was screaming and jerking her controls around, trying to escape, but her Zoid's neck got closer and closer to the ground, and closer and closer to snapping off.

Jamie, as the Wild Eagle, swiveled mid-air and fired a torpedo right into the gut of the snake. It unleashed the dinosaur type Zoid and hissed, but a keen from the Raynos sent it back underground. The Jager let out another threatening growl before closing its jaws on the back of Leena's Gunsniper and pulling her out of the ground. "Stop writhing around will you!"

As soon as her Zoid's feet touched the ground she stilled. "I need ammo." Then she turned and skedaddled back to the hangar.

He shook his head exasperated, but then took notice of the chaotic battle. "Brad, can you hold the fort while I switch to the Panzar?"

"Sure," he grunted, while firing at another line of Sinkers that were trying to circle behind him to the unprotected back of the base.

Out of the corner of his eye, Brad watched the blue Jager leap into the Hover Cargo, then he set his sights on the massing enemies. He curled his fingers around a lever and grinned. His Zoid was the perfect machine. It fit his piloting skills terrifyingly well and was the best partner he could ever find. It let out a high-pitched yowl as he landed on top of a hot pink stingray and Strike Laser Clawed it into scraps. From its back, he leapt to another stingray, and another, making quick work of the enemy Zoids as he went along.

After reaching the left side of the battle line, he began zigzagging back, shooting off rounds of the Vulcan on areas Jamie couldn't reach. As he was bringing down another stingray the nose of a Cobra started to push out of the ground, but he and the Shadowfox were too agile for something that obvious, and they easily dodged around it before even its gills had cleared the sand. As an afterthought, Brad deployed the net gun in his tail and it wrapped tightly around the snake's head as it was trying to retreat back to safety. Waves of electricity pumped through his competitor and it fell over_—_frozen on the ground.

He chuckled, "Piece of cake." His Zoid let out another chilling howl. "Anybody else man enough to fight me?" The Liger had nothing on the Shadowfox—this was definitely the best partner out there.

A few shots rang out and he heard a loud bang from just behind him. Swiveling, he saw another Cobra smoking on the ground. "What?" With shock evident on his face, he glanced up at the Hovercargo, where a single turret was facing him.

He was going to have to rephrase that. The Shadowfox was only the best _Zoid _partner out there.

.

The side of the Hover Cargo opened and Bit stepped out with the Liger clad in green thick armor heavy with artillery. It took a few steps forward, leaving shallow craters in the ground, and let a deep growl rumble in its throat.

The army of enemies slowed, backing up while unsure what to do with this unexpected Liger type. Immediately, Bit triggered the scope and began locking onto the scores of Sinkers. He gripped the controls harder as he felt the sweat pooling in his hand from the quickly overheating cockpit.

His vid-screen beeped and a brunette flashed onto his overhead screen, smiling delightedly.

"You!"

"Me." She grinned cheshirely.

Wavy brown hair and grey eyes. A battle-suit mixed with shadowy colors and a silky voice that dripped with zealous confidence. She smirked at him with familiar painted lips.

Lady Fuma. She and her team had been employed by the Backdraft and attacked them in their Warsharks. There were also a few other instances where her name had cropped up in the same sentences as the Backdraft Group.

"I see when I'm beat, but I'm glad to see you've begun treating me like a real opponent."

He scowled. "Why don't you come down here and fight me, _then_ I'll really treat you like an opponent."

She chuckled unhumorously. "I'll save your destruction for another day, Bit Cloud. Until then…" She landed the Hammerhead and the Desert Gang slowly began loading into the open mouth. "Sleep on this, 'I will not be long.'" The base turned its boosters to face the ground and launched itself into the air. "You wouldn't fire on a lady when her back was turned, right?"

He grit his teeth, but didn't launch a bullet as she meandered into the distance, rising higher and smirking as she cut off the connection. When the Hammerhead was just a dot in the sky he shut down the weapons system and released the Panzer armor. Frowning, he unzipped his jacket to mop his face with it.

"What in the entire Republic is she up to, Liger?"

. . .

"Seconds anyone?" Jamie held up the last pot to the pilot residents that were all lounging on the kitchen counters.

"No way, I've had enough burnt spaghetti for one night." Leon chuckled and scrunched up his face in mock disgust.

Bit laughed too, nodding in agreement, "When I said I missed your cooking, Jamie, I didn't mean anything like this."

The entire group joined in the amusement and Jamie pouted. "Aw, you guys! It's not my fault we got into a battle in the middle of cooking!"

"They're just kidding, kid, it was great. Thanks for dinner again." Naomi gave him a small smile.

"Yeah, thanks." Leena leaned over Bit to give the aviator a noogie. "But I don't know if my stomach will ever forgive you for it."

"You know, I wasn't the only one in the kitchen when they attacked!" The mature youngster replied, brandishing a fork, "Anybody else could have turned the stove off!"

Dr. Toros frowned, "Sure, but nobody else knows how to do that!"

"Oh, dad."

Jamie leapt up into an empty space near Leon, and everyone tacitly agreed to not mention that it took two attempts. Or that he almost fell in the sink. As they all took a moment to munch happily on their food, Brad spoke up. "You're looking comfortable over there, Bit. Are you planning on staying?"

He looked upwards thoughtfully, "Hmm. Only under one condition," he paused for effect and everyone fell silent. He was going to ask for _terms? Really? _"Jamie promises not to try and poison me again."

He immediately broke into laughter, and everyone joined in moments later. "Shove it, you guys!" Jamie cried, but he was grinning along with them.

And so, the sun set on the Blitz and Feugal Teams. Everyone had massive repairs and maintenance checks to start the next morning, and a tangible worry for the new menace hung over their heads, but their smiles remained undaunted. Because, really, this was family. And everything (and everyone) was more fun a little burnt anyways.

. . .

_Next time on Zoids:_

"I know I've been behind the scenes recently, but finally my Gunsniper is fully functional. Unfortunately, the only battles coming our way are ones that would waste my time. Especially the ones with Leena, but I think I've found a fun button she wasn't expecting me to press. Also, proof (as if we needed any more) that Liger pilots are too battle crazy for all our goods. Next time on Zoids, the blades unleashed—Tigers vs the Ligers. The Fuzzy Panda's att—wait, no, who are they again? Ready! Fight!

* * *

><p><strong>Fight<strong> scenes... this was much worse than last chapter's. What a non-epic battle to come after an epic one. Oh well, I still liked the little Brad/Naomi segment heh heh. On that note, let's not mention the horrible Bit/Leena attempts. We _can_ mention Jamie saving Leena...because he totally has a crush on her. What, what?

Besides that, hmm. I guess you can say we've ended the Introductory Arc and have officially begun the Undrafted Arc. Yay!

Also, they say "Helic". Tis a curse word now. If you find yourself using it, please wash your mouth out with soap.

Wait, I almost forgot! Fuma is the evil villian. What do you think? I sort of love using the Fuma Team because it gives me four 'villians' to work with. You'll see why they went 'evil'...later.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own NC0. Jubon, Kishon, and McNair are actual canon characters, but I did make up their spellings.

**Reviews: **You guys are so nice! Especially DarkElement (you slay me)—I'll dedicate a better episode to you in the future. But seriously, just those three Episode 6 reviews had me writing a whole bunch of new stuff. (I still need to organize it because I just sort of write randomly...) However, there is an episode coming up soon that is really in need of some 'prompts.' In your next review, please tell me something you'd like to see. Like, "Character A talking to Character B about anything." That would be totally awesome...because I love prompts...because they always get twisted hahah.

Excited about the next chapter? It's the Tiger's team, and I give them individual personalities! Sort of. What do you think of the Desert Gang in league with the Undrafted? Anybody craving burnt spaghetti? Happy to see Bit finally back with the Blitz?


	8. Episode 8

Episode Eight

_The Blades Unleashed—Tigers vs the Ligers_

"_And let the girls be handy."_

Her red armadillo base was back, parked neatly next to the blue Hovercargo, and she was definitely happy to see it. Naomi Feugal could only live out of a suitcase for so long.

She had no intention of going her separate way though; Leon needed some more time with his family (in her opinion, her teammate spent way to much time crooning to his Zoid.) Plus, the Blitz was the best team to get in a fight with. Prize money and teams willing to put any up had gotten scarce during this off-season.

But Brad was definitely the best reason to stick around.

"Well, looks like all of your systems are running. No errors in the programs either." He turned his dark eyes towards her.

She wasn't usually the type to plan her journeys around some guy, but this pilot-for-hire had surprised her more than once with how much he seemed to care about her. It made her feel...girly...compared to the usual sentiments of well-rounded responsible woman. She had to admit that she liked it, but she also knew she was beginning to indulge in the feeling a little too often.

"You definitely could have done this check in your own base." He tucked his hands in his pockets and raised his eyebrow playfully.

"A girl's allowed to want company." She spoke in her usual slow and sultry voice, and gave just a hint of a sidelong glance.

He was just about to smile that wonderfully slow smile at her when she caught, out of the corner of her eye, Leena walk into the hangar and immediately start backpedaling. She just couldn't help it—it made her grin.

"Oh, gag me." Leena said with her hand on the door. "You two need to get on with it already."

Immediately Brad's cheeks tinted a shade darker, something overwhelmingly endearing, and she easily slipped into the old routine of trading jibes with the young girl. Recently they had improved at getting along, and she was worried her insults would start to get rusty. "It?"

"IT." Leena scowled, but she inched further out the door, obviously still slightly embarrassed.

"Calling the kettle black."

"What?"

"Oh, nothing. But what were you coming to the hangar for? Hoping to run into someone?"

Brad let out a short laugh, and Leena continued to hide whether Naomi's comments flustered her or not. "I don't know _what_ you're talking about. I came to fix up my Gunsniper, which I haven't been able to do all day since you two awkward lovebirds have been in here playing foreplay."

Brad smiled slowly, a sign that he was getting ready to join the fray. "Leena, you two have practically _written the book _on awkward foreplay."

She definitely blushed that time. Naomi was sure of it. Leena's mouth worked in shock for a second, then she turned and stalked out of the room grumbling. "Completely ridiculous…trying to turn this on me…perverts."

There was a beat of silence before the two 'lovebirds' started snickering at the poor girl's expense. He swung an arm around her shoulders and the giggling got louder. It really wasn't that funny, but here, tucked underneath Brad's arm, she found herself with that little excess happy to explain the laughter that soon boomed through the room.

. . .

The Tigers team lay on their backs staring into the darkening sky. They formed a small triangle with their heads; the center of which contained the remnants of the one can of baked beans they had eaten for dinner.

"Y'know," Omari said, "there _is_ one good thing about us losing all the time. I've gotten better at reading the stars."

Kirkland scratched his cheek. "Eh. Maybe we should get real jobs."

"Like what?" Lineback griped. "Even clown requires college degrees."

Suddenly a bright searchlight shone down onto them and they shrieked and sat up, covering their eyes. "Hello, Zabrefangs." A woman called out to them from the shadow behind the mini sun. "You look downcast."

"Who are you?" Shouted Kirkland, since he was the makeshift leader of the group the other two automatically leapt behind him and loudly copied what he said.

"I'm Lady Fuma. I heard that you once worked with Dr. Laon and was hoping you'd extend the favor to me as well."

Lineback elbowed him in the ribs. "The storm antigravity con-man? Didn't he end up joining the Backdraft?"

Omari bent over to his ear level too, as they were both taller than him, "and I bet this is a cop trying to arrest us because of our connections!"

Which meant deny deny deny. "Sorry miss, but that's a no from us. The other dude ended up screwing us over in the end."

"Maybe I should rephrase." Her voice floated down to them on a cloud of menace. "I am the leader of the new and improved Backdraft Group, the Undrafted, and I want an army."

The three boys looked at each other, obviously dumbfounded. "I still think this is a setup," grunted Omari.

"I won't screw you over because I won't lose."

Now the two tall brunettes were leaning over Kirkland's shoulders while trying to sway him with warring opinions. Lineback hurriedly whispered, "I bet she'll give us food if we go with her."

"Don't do it bro'_—_the Blitz team will beat us for sure, and we'll be back here in the dirt."

"Well, we're in the dirt anyways so I don't count that as a loss."

"We'll lose a bunch of Zoid parts for sure!"

Kirkland grabbed them by the collars and silenced them with a glare. "Get in your zabres."

Lineback grinned. "I can smell all the food now. Steaks. Potatoes. Steaks." Omari just looked frightened and was tugging at his shaggy light brown hair, but he got into his Zoid along with the rest of his team.

The tint of their cockpits allowed them to see further into the light screen, and the belly of a Hammerhead filled their visions.

"On the count of three men." Kirkland said, staring at the ship that could make them stars or get them sent to jail. Or kill them. "One. Two." Its jaws began to open.

"RUN! Run run run!"

. . .

Dr. Toros was typing away on a computer in the briefing room of his beloved Hover Cargo when he heard light footsteps pass the door.  
>"Jamie!"<p>

The young boy stuck his head in, his grey eyes questioning. "What's up, Doc?"

"Come here and check out this armor design."

Curious, Jamie moved closer, and peered at the bright red armor plating graphically welded onto the Hover Cargo. "What does it do?"

"It repels bullets."

"Isn't that what your energy shield is for?"

"Perhaps, but not for all 360 degrees." Dr. Toros waggled his eyebrows. "Plus, I added in a new mobilizing unit. We'd be able to get your Raynos halfway to Mach 1 in just a few seconds! Imagine that acceleration!"

"Seriously, Doc, are you homicidal?" Jamie frowned sadly, worried that the good doctor was seriously thinking about putting him through that many g's. "By the way, I don't have life insurance."

"I'm just trying to use your Zoid to its full potential."

"I do that!"

Dr. Toros hummed happily and set the structural analysis program running again, paying close attention to where new struts would have to be added. "Imagine it, Jamie, we'd be the only impervious base in all of Zi."

Jamie beamed a wide and fake smile. "We can call it the Titanic!"

"No, the_—_" Dr. Toros narrowed his eyes at the youth. "Are you trying to word-tie me?"

He blinked grey eyes innocently, as if the idea of snarky comments were too complicated for him to understand. "All jokes aside, what makes it impervious?"

Dr. Toros smiled wanly, ignoring him and taking his time painting a yellow stripe onto the computerized Hover Cargo. Jamie took the opportunity to leap upon the keyboard and run a search through the metals log.

"...Ultrasaurus armor." He said dryly, blinking at the sometime-genius who was now smiling dreamily at the screen.

"Modified Ultrasaurus armor."

"And what exactly is our top speed?"

"Of course that's all you would care about," Steve Toros huffed while rearranging the plating configuration.

"I care about actually getting to battles on time." Jamie studied the computer screen for a moment and then at the doctor that had been slyly avoiding his more pointed questions. "It weighs a ton doesn't it?"

"We'd need tank treads to get around, but slow and steady wins the race!"

"We're already a snail."

. . .

It was late and the moon had risen high in the sky before Naomi had gone back to the Gustav to sleep and Leena could get into the hangar to work on her Gunsniper. Well, it wasn't actually the Gunsniper that needed her attention; she needed to build her new Plasma pistol and attach it to the tail, but she hadn't wanted to deal with Naomi teasing her every step of the way.

She slipped around the back where she'd hid the weapon and pulled it into the light to rip it open.

"What are you doing?"

She jumped up and spun around. "Dark Nyx, Bit, you almost gave me a heart attack."

He and his white shirt had grease marks everywhere, but his teeth were clean and gleaming as he grinned at her while probably debating whether or not to make the obvious jokes. He ended up just smiling, as he liked having full use of his limbs.

"Well, what have you been doing in here?"

He shrugged and walked back to the Liger to climb up onto its back. "Nothing special. Small stuff I needed to fix on this lazy cat over here," he jerked a finger at the Liger and it growled threateningly back at him, "and I wanted to grease up his joints after all that traveling too."

"Oh." She said while separating the various parts into piles. "I wanted to make this gun."

"In the middle of the night?"

"You're creeping around in the middle of the night too, so don't start lecturing me, Bit Cloud."

"I've been working in here since the afternoon. It makes perfect sense for me to be _finishing up_ around now, instead of _just starting._"

She stuck her tongue out as she ventured to the toolbox to gather instruments the instructions said she'd need. "I didn't want Naomi poking her nose into my business." She grabbed a size-three screwdriver and a few allen wrenches.

"Ah, and the truth comes out."

"And keep it to yourself, 'k?"

He gave her a thumbs-up from where he lay working on top of the Liger. She'd only attached one piece when curiosity got the better of him. "Why would Naomi care?"

"This is a plasma pistol, but there's a long story behind that."

"Well let's hear it. The Liger hasn't been interesting recently anyways." The Zoid growled and Bit laughed, leaving her to feel like she was being left out of a conversation when there was only one other person in the room. That sucked.

"Naomi and I were in this battle with the Tasker sisters—"

"Whoa! You guys fought the Lightening team while I was gone?"

So a considerable amount of time passed with her sidetracking to tell Bit every detail about that battle. The conversation helped fuel her through the building of her weapon, and it made the time pass faster. Bit asked a lot of questions, obviously, _that incessant battle addict_, but it surprised her how many she couldn't answer. He noticed more details than she even knew existed.

"Then I'm guessing Kelly attacked you?"

"What? How did you know it was her?"

"It's obvious! Plus those two have completely different battling styles!"

"There is no way they are _completely _different. I would have noticed if they were _completely_ different."

He chuckled down at her. "Yeah, you're right. They have _slightly_ different battling styles." He tapped his chin causing another smear of grease. "My point is that Kelly is more likely to not take the extra second to think about this new rifle that she saw you carrying around."

She tried to understand the clues that had given Kelly away (couldn't do it). "Whatever. The only difference I see is Kelly's battlesuit is green and Chris' is blue, but who am I to say you had a lucky guess? You're a guy. You could probably tell me the differences in their _boobs_."

He started laughing so hard that she immediately heard a _splat_ as the WD40 hit the cement, and then a loud _THUNK _as he rolled right after it.

"It was not that funny!" She stood up so she could see further and make sure he wasn't bleeding everywhere. "I can't believe you fell!"

"Leena, I can't believe you just said boob! Like _that_!" He laughed again, wiping tears from his eyes.

"Hmph." She threw wire cutters at him. And then a few other parts that had started to frustrate her. "I can say whatever I want." She said snootily and then sat back down in her chair and pulled the plasma container back into her lap.

He turned and lay on his stomach, still chuckling, and watched her. The gun was small, and it looked mostly done, except for whatever was making Leena stab at it with a wrench. "Is mutilating it in the instructions? 'Skewer three times'?"

Glaring at him, she placed the pistol on the ground and stood up in one fluid motion. His eyes widened and when she reached him she gave him a solid kick in the shoulders. He started to complain, but she interrupted him, questioning haughtily, "Where are those wire cutters I threw at you?"

"Why would I tell you that? You shouldn't have thrown them at me."

The fiery red head crossed her arms and stared at him Grinch style, and for a moment he felt like the dog forced to run down the mountain. He picked them up from where they were under his knee, and she yanked them from his hand, swaying_—_no walking, _walking__—_back to her chair. "What's wrong with it? I could help you out if you want."

"I can handle it." She muttered.

"So, you're positive that you don't want my generous and skilled help?"

"Hmph," she grunted in response while going back to her frustrated clanging.

Bit shrugged and turned to face the Liger. "You're feeling better aren't you, buddy?" The beast growled softly, almost purr-like, "Which means I'm done with all of my tasks. Except I'm not sleepy." He watched Leena out of the corners of his eyes, but she didn't even blink towards him. So he stood up, puttered around gathering the pieces of his old invisibility device, and pulled up a chair just out of her kicking range.

Immediately the little machine began to take shape; he had already made it once_—_he could make it again no sweat.

"Why are you building that right in front of me?" She asked, slightly jealous at his progress in so short a time span.

"You're the one with all the tools." He grinned and leaned over to lift the screwdriver that lay near her. He continued tinkering with the little machine while studying her whatchamacallit furtively. He was pretty sure he knew where she had gone wrong.

Leena wasn't the type to use instructions; she had been around Zoids all her life and should be able to figure a simple canister out. However, the more she looked at the plasma pistol in her hand, the more confused she became. Gears, sure. Guns, sure. Wires? Hell no. She connected a wire back to what she believed was ground and it sparked and shorted out. She groaned angrily and pounded a fist into her knee. Seconds before she gave up and kicked it across the room, Bit pulled his chair over until her knees bumped his seat and suddenly yanked it from her hands.

"Bit! Let go—you'll ruin—"

He roughly hovered a finger over her mouth. "Shut up so I can concentrate."

She put her fists on her hips and readied a glare, but he had already looked down and was flipping her little gun round in his hands. Mumbling things to himself, he set it down on her knees and bent down to pick up things from her pile of parts. His knee pressed into the outside of her thigh and, flustered, she shouted, "What am I, furniture?"

He worked some magic, she blinked a few times, and her plasma canister brightened into a glowing neon blue.

"What did you…how did you?" She stuttered, holding her new, beautiful, and _working_ gun in her hands.

He grinned wolfishly. "You can thank me later."

Then her entire body started trembling. She spent an entire perplexing second wondering why she was angry before she realized the humming was coming up the floor and through her feet.

She stood up, furrowing her eyebrows, but Bit was already ahead of her, and had his ear to the hangar gate. "Sounds like shooting!" He exclaimed and jumped towards the Liger Zero. "C'mon, Leena!"

"But I haven't rebooted my Zoid yet!" She glanced around frantically for some sort of answer, but had to hit the floor as enemy fire peppered the room. The Liger let loose a terrifying growl before leaping into the middle of the fray.

The gunfire died down as Bit drew the attention away, and it was only then that she got shakily to her feet. It was this scene that her brother ran in on—her wide-eyed and clutching a pulsing blue weapon of death to her chest. He glanced around at the carnage. "Did you do this!"

She shook her head, her mouth hanging open slightly.

He jogged over, gave her a fond kiss on the forehead, and then leapt into his Blade Liger. The next scene he ran in on was the Liger Zero leaping towards three Zabrefangs with still smoking guns. So there were the culprits.

The three scattered out of their V formation and shot at Bit, who was chasing one of them down.

"C'mon, Liger." He said, and he and his Zoid leapt onto one of the enemy Zoids, crushing its gun and leaving the tiger a sparking mess on the ground. "Bit, do these guys look familiar to you?"

He swiped at the Zoid, but the second sabertooth shot him in the arm. "Yeah," he paused to mutter a curse, "I think they're the Fuzzy Pandas." He jerked the Liger forward and caught the back leg of the speeding enemy in his teeth. "I tried opening a comm-link with them but they didn't bother answering." He twisted his head and tossed the Zabrefang into the air. It landed with a small mewl.

Leon focused his sights on the last 'fang as it zigzagged away from the battle and then crouched low on the ground a ways away. _What in the world? He looks like a complete idiot._

The white Liger was staring down at his 'kill' growling menacingly. "How am I supposed to figure out why they shot at the base if they won't turn on their stupid computers!"

"Ask him in person later."

Bit looked down at the prone Zoid beneath him. "Yeah, but I can't bring myself to just stomp on this guy."

Suddenly there was a big bang from the sky and both Zabrefangs leapt to the air and jetted towards the hangar. Bit gave a surprised yelp and stumbled backwards.

Both Liger pilots stood in a frozen bewilderment as the Zoids closed in on Leon. The tigers didn't shoot or attempt any tricky maneuvers, making it seem less like an attack and more like running-for-your-life.

Just as they made it to either side of Leon, he bent and flicked his blades out, slicing through a foot on each Zoid. He straightened as they thumped to the ground and waited for the dust cloud to settle.

"Hey, I was gonna get that guy."

"Well you were lolly-gagging around. I had no choice."

"I was not lolloping!"

Leon chuckled and soon after Bit cracked a smile too. "I see you're using your new blades that I picked out."

"Yeah, this was the first time."

"You should probably test them out a little more."

He grinned. "True. They are in definite need of a trial run." Bit grinned back and both boys vaulted towards each other, completely forgetting about the enemy lying at their feet.

By this time the ruckus had roused both Jamie and Dr. Toros who now stood with Leena and watched Omari and Kirkland extricate themselves from their Zoids. Omari immediately ran to a severed Zoidian foot and cradled it in his arms, crying. Kirkland started sprinting towards them, head down like a bull, and behind him the two Ligers pancaked in a Strike Laser Claw.

Jamie shook his head at the whole situation.

Kirkland then reached them, and with his hands on his knees amidst gasps for breath he said, "You've got to help us!"

Leena snorted. "I don't think there's enough help in the entire world to solve your problems."

"The Back_—_Undrafted are after us!"

"They're after you!" Leena exclaimed looking outside immediately and searching the darkness.

"It doesn't seem like the Back-Undrafted are there now." Dr. Toros said serenely, placing his hands in his pockets.

"Well, they...well, we were running_—_"

"None of this explains why you attacked our base! It's going to take us forever to fix all of those holes." Jamie huffed.

The good doctor patted him softly on the back of the head, causing Jamie to frown indignantly. "Why don't you start at the beginning?"

.

The moon was bright tonight. It gave a ghostly glow to each of the Ligers and hid their deadly fangs in shadow. Leon kept his blades at the ready, never retracting them in fear of a surprise attack, and Bit kept his hand twitching above the throttle, ready to leap and run in a moment's notice. Somewhere along the line they had stopped talking and just left heavy breathing grating in their enemy's ears.

Something triggered them again_—_a flinch or a held breath_—_and they were both off like rockets. Claws and sparks lighting up the night. The battle strategy was hard to follow, as they clashed with almost feral instinct, but it was indeed there. A dodge, twist and feint. G-forces no ordinary pilot would be able to take. Tight turns and hit the boosters and...!

.

"So your instruments aren't working?"

"Sounds like some sort of electromagnetic pulse." Dr. Toros pondered, tapping his chin thoughtfully. "That's an interesting piece of technology."

"So that's why we had to shoot at your garage. We didn't want to die!"

Jamie shook his head. "I've never met three bigger idiots than you three." The Liger Zero gave a resounding roar that vibrated through the soles of his feet. "On second thought, that's not true at all."

"Well, it doesn't seem like the Undrafted are anywhere close by now. I guess we scared them off."

Lineback crawled into the hangar, finally reaching safety after avoiding the two warring Liger's outside. "All we wanted was to hide! My Zabrefang is destroyed!" He moaned to Kirkland with tears in his eyes.

Leena heaved a great sigh. "Well since those two hot-heads destroyed your Zoids, I guess we won't throw you out to die in the desert." She turned around and beckoned them to follow her. "I'll help you guys get set up on the couches."

"Really?" Omari cheered, then leapt into the air to give a three-way high-five to his other teammates.

"But that doesn't mean I'm using our money to fix your pandas!" The good doctor shouted after them.

. . .

_Next time on Zoids:_

"So, this is Brad...things have become quite aggravating recently. I usually wouldn't care, but it's becoming more obvious now that I can't get a single solitude second around here without bumping into some Zoid warrior. To make matters worse, that so-called princess has latched herself onto Jamie's arm and her screeching is filling up the hallways. Somebody save me, please. Next time on Zoids: A walk on the wild side_—_Mary Champ and the wild Zoid. I wish she'd go back into that wild blue yonder. Ready? Fight!"

* * *

><p><strong>Hello. <strong>I'm updating earlier then my usual deadline of the 20th! I'm so happy with myself. I'm also so angry with ffnet, because I tried to update yesterday and the login wasn't working...it's so annoying sometimes. Luckily I got time today. Plus, I suppose it's a good thing, because it forced me to add more to the episode and do more editing.

Let's see...what happened. Well, not that big of a battle scene! Majority of chapter is BL and BrN, great job me, what is this, a chick flick? Well, hopefully you still enjoy, I remember Randomcat mentioning that they liked the small Brad section about partners, so, yeah, hopefully. This Brad section is a lot different from the original, but I like it a lot more too.

Hmmm what else. Tigers team join the fray on the side of good. And Mary and Harry make a return next chapter which will let me pawn those three off to them so I won't have to write Kirkland, Omari, and Lineback in all Blitz scenes. 8P I'm intentionally keeping characters around in the background. You'll see whyyyy.

Oh yeah, and I have no idea how large the Hammerhead is in my head. I know it isn't as technically as big as I'm writing it to be. I'm picturing Zeppelin sized. Like HUGE Zeppelin sized. It's possible, okay?

I guess that covers everything. Don't worry, Dr. Toros isn't going to outfit the Hover Cargo with Ultrasaurus armor or get a new mobilizing system. And I'm going to conveniently forget about Leena's plasma pistol most likely lol. Continuity...good friend, or enemy?

**Disclaimer**: I do not own NC0. I don't own the plasma pistol either_—_that's from Halo.

**Reviews**: Thank you Randomcat! It makes me so happy to see that someone is willing to review every chapter. It makes me a better reviewer :) Another thing...by principle, I always try to update within a month of my last post. So expect another update by March 13th, but hopefully earlier. I'm going to try really hard to do an every two/three week sort of thing, okay?

Sooo...anybody excited to see the return of Mary? Excited to read some Tigers Team antics? How large have you been imagining the Hammerhead?


	9. Episode 9

Episode Nine

_A Walk on the Wild Side—Mary Champ and the Wild Zoid_

_"And there was Captain Washington upon a slapping stallion,"_

Mornings were a nice time on Zi. Especially with the added Fuegal and Tigers Teams milling about in their area and raiding their fridge constantly. Making breakfast wasn't fun anymore. Team Mom was becoming a 24-hour job. But sometimes in the mornings Jamie had the time to say 'screw it' and ditch those duties for a few hours. The sunrise and the crisp air reverberated deep inside his bones and the hum of his Raynos' controls _called _him. The Wild Eagle needed to be let loose.

Tricks that left his adrenaline pumping were fun on most occasions, but in the mornings sometimes he just liked to pull really high into the air and just bask in the pleasures of flight. Really, the sunrise looks a lot different when you're _in _the sky and not just staring at it. Today was particularly beautiful. The pinks reflected off the clouds and gave the sun illusionary rays resulting in more colors and shades. He breathed deeply as the soft glow diffused through his solar shield and warmed his bones as he lazily cut the Raynos through the clouds.

A little ways into his trip, while breaking apart a particularly puffy cumulus, a few moving dots at ground level caught his eye. He tried ignoring the story, but his curiosity got the better of him, and he banked downwards. Circling like a bird of prey, he spied closer, sharp eyes noticing two Iron Kongs and a large sunhat crouched amidst the rocks. Looking around he noticed nothing in the area and, confused, ran a basic infrared scan, which quickly yielded nothing of importance as well. "What you doing down there little miss?"

The lady in the sunhat stood up and turned a beautiful face towards him. "What deep manly voice did I just hear?" One of the Iron Kongs behind her whirred in response and said, "That was Jamie from the Blitz Team. He just hailed us on our comm-links."

"That's the Wild Eagle to you, Benjamin."

And sure enough it was Harry's two robots bumbling about in the quarry with their female host. Zooming up on the face of the woman, he was disappointed to notice the same look on her eyes that he'd seen on Harry's many times before. "Mary Champ. What brings you out here?"

She placed a dainty hand on her head to keep her hat from blowing out into the wind. "I spied this adorable wild Zoid and I so badly want it for my collection."

The Wild Eagle deadpanned before calling back down, "Well, I see no wild gallivanting Zoids from up here so might as well call off the chase, pumpkin!"

"Oh! But I do believe I'm right on its trail."

"Well, in that case, one of us is crazy. I vote you. And look at that! 50% of the vote! That's majority. You're nuts."

. . .

Oh, ecstasy, breakfast time at the Hover Cargo. The Tigers Team yawned and padded sloppily from the round couches into the conjoined kitchen. In it, a pair of robots stirred a pan of scrambled eggs while Jamie sat at the table with a blonde woman who ate with her fork upside down. Kirkland rubbed his eyes and looked again. _Yup, same image._ "Uh, good morning Miss."

"Hello, brave warrior." She replied demurely.

"Help me." Jamie groaned, while closing his eyes in silent suffering.

She leaned over and hugged his arm, crooning, "Where's that sexy voice from before?"

"I'm just going to grab a bite to eat." Omari said while sidestepping into the kitchen.

Leon walked into the room, bright-eyed and cheery. "Good morning, Tigers Team. When will you guys be ready to go?"

"Nobody warned us that you were kicking us out!" Lineback cried.

He furrowed his eyebrows in response. "Of course not," Leon deadpanned, "we just figured out what to do with you lot finally. We're tired of watching you watch our TV."

Bit popped his head into the room too. "We're going to teach you how to fight! So you stop disgracing the name of feline Zoids!"

In the background Omari mouthed 'disgraceful?' while poking at the robots in curiosity. "But we don't have Zoids." Spoke Kirkland stubbornly as he crossed his arms.

"So? We must start small, young pandas." Leon sat down in a seat and folded his hands behind his head. "First task: get me a cup of coffee. This is important for your training."

The head-honcho of the Tigers team stared down the amused eyes of Leon Toros, furiously trying not to blink and lose the battle of wills. After a few seconds of laughable effort he huffed angrily and waved his hand, signaling Lineback to get the coffee.

"Oh, boys, I can get your Zoids fixed up lickity split if you promise to help me out with something?" The blonde sang the words slightly, curling a ringlet of hair around a finger.

"More coercion?"

"Is this still about the Wild Zoid? Do you have any idea how rare they are?" Jamie asked, frowning.

She put a hand on his knee (and he yelped) "Yes. We'll go later today to search for it. You're the one whose help I need most to capture it. No need to get jealous, bubby."

In the background Omari mouthed 'bubby?' while poking at the questionable eggs.

"Help me, Leon."

"I don't like the idea of capturing Wild Zoids for fun," frowned Leon. Memories of finding his own Red Liger and the trials he went through to befriend it flashed through his mind.

"Silly! It wouldn't be for fun. It's for my collection!"

At this point the former team captain gave Jamie a long look, tacitly saying do _not_ let her even _get close_ to enslaving the beast.

"Why am I her keeper?" Whined Jamie plaintively, "Where's Leena? She knows how to deal with this family."

With utterly good timing (probably something to do with womanly instincts) Leena poked her head into the room. "Brad and Bit said to check out what was happening in the kitchen…" At first she noticed the Fuzzy Pandas serving her brother and shook her head disdainfully at him, but then she noticed Mary Champ. Her eyes slid from Jamie, to the princess, and then back to Jamie. "Ah. It is funny when it's happening to another person."

. . .

The Ultrasaurus was finally taking shape. The tiny vertebrae that he'd taken hours putting together had culminated in the head, which he was placing on now. Delicately, delicately...there. A beautiful creation! He had wanted to make this model for a long while. Carefully, he shifted the miniscule version of the Zoid further back on his desk and admired his work.

It was nice having fewer things to do around the base with the off-season going strong. More people around meant less tasks delegated to him. And a constant party atmosphere!

And, though perhaps unnecessary to think it, he felt like he could better protect everyone if they were all together. He didn't like the look in Lady Fuma's eyes when she had ordered he and his son into battle. He could deal with the Backdraft because to some extent they _did _follow the rules. This new version seemed hell bent on their mysterious immediate goals and damn whatever got in their way. In a group everyone was safer from the impending attacks, and maybe they all knew it in some subconscious way. Maybe that's why the Feugal and Tigers teams lingered.

"We're safer in numbers."

. . .

"Our types of Zoids have great handling which you have to learn to use to your advantage," Leon had his arms in front of his body, pantomiming as he talked, "for example, while you three were shooting at Bit, he was able to get into the air and knock one of you out of the battle." He showed the leap and the approximate placements of each of their Zoids using his fingers. "What better arrangement could you have been standing in so that you could have dodged and encircled him in one fell swoop?"

"Uhh..." Omari mumbled, scratching head.

Lineback held up a finger and pensively added, "We weren't trying to battle you though."

"Ugh, and who seriously cares about battle strategy?" Bit chimed in. "Here's a better idea. Why don't we run them through a tight turn course until they know how to handle their Zoids like pros."

"Great idea. But where are we going to get a course?" Leon queried, frustrated, "And working Zoids for them?"

A _thunk _from outside distracted the group from their conversation and they all watched Harry as he entered the room with nervous eyes. When he caught sight of his sister sitting with Jamie who was listening to the 'training lesson' he snapped back into his normal demeanor. "Mary! There you are! Why did you steal Benjamin and Sebastian from me this morning? I was hungry and lonely."

"Oh, Harry, perfect timing! Don't we have some extra Zabrefangs lying around in your base? These fine fellows need three." She gestured to the Tigers team who were gathered around the table with Leon and Bit.

"What? Why?"

A sibling squabble proceeded to break out, and the team watched on with wide eyes. Eventually Harry yelled out 'Fine!' while Mary clapped happily. "Shall we move on to the base?" She announced to the room as if they hadn't just seen her bully whip Harry into doing what she wanted. She proceeded to walk out of the room primly. The boys all exchanged sidelong glances before Leon and Bit just sort of shrugged and the Tigers team leapt up to obtain their new Zabrefangs. Lineback imitated her walk to the door and then guffawed loudly.

"I feel like it would have been a lot cheaper just to fix their Zabres here."

"You are probably right in that assessment." Bit shrugged. "At least we'll get to teach them through battling! This talking stuff is such a waste of time."

Leon gave him a smack in the head. "I don't know how you make it as a pilot," he joked, smirking.

"She's gone!" Jamie said sighing in relief. "She's so creepy! I'm way younger than her!"

Leena bopped into the room and glanced around. "Darn, did I miss the tutorial I've been hearing so much about?" In her hands she held a giant chocolate chip cookie, and she took a bite out of it sadly.

Bit pursed his lips. "Isn't that my cookie?"

She looked at him innocently. "What? This cookie?" She took another large bite out.

He leapt up and shrieked, "That is my cookie!"

"By the way," She started running, laughing maniacally. "It's delicious!" Immediately after her Bit followed, shouting "Come back here, thief!"

Leon blinked. "What just happened?"

Jamie sighed. "Don't worry about it, they do this sometimes."

. . .

The delicious smells of dinner brought everyone in the surrounding area to the Fuegal Gustav where Naomi had offered everyone a meal to make up for her recent mooching.

"Beautiful, a great warrior, and she can cook," Brad smirked with an air of false mournfulness, "there's not much hope left for you Leena." He continued gathering chairs around the random tables they'd shoved together.

"I'll be the judge of whether she can cook or not." She glowered while setting some plates down. "Hmm. Should I set a place for the Champs? Or should I say, _non-_champs." She giggled at her own joke.

"Yeah." Leon said from his position near the door where he was counting out forks. "I saw Harry in the other room." Leena stuck her tongue out but set the places anyway.

Bit stumbled in with a chair in each hand. He had just trekked from their base to this one with them, and although anxious to put them down, couldn't pass up the opportunity to tease their young team member. "Should I scoot Mary's chair closer to yours Jamieeee?"

"No!" He shouted, blushing deeply.

"And the food arrives!" Cried out Naomi with a flourish as she stepped fluidly out of the small kitchen clad in red oven mitts and holding a steaming porcelain dish.

"Finally!" Cheered Bit as the group quickly settled into place. Dr. Toros was quickly munching away and everyone else soon followed, complementing Naomi in turn. The good she was doing to Leena's stomach helped her forget Brad's earlier comment. Just when the conversation started to reach a lull, Harry wavered out an interesting notion.

"Not to bother anyone, but it's kind of lonely on this end of the table."

The pilots' heads swiveled, and they took note of their arrangement. On one end of the room the Feugal and Blitz teams were sitting in a fairly circular fashion, and on the other sat Harry surrounded by four empty seats. "Where _is _the Tigers Team? And Mary?" Jamie piped up.

"Don't know, don't care." Brad said smoothly.

"The Tigers team isn't one to usually pass up food," mused the Doc. "Jamie why don't you go look for them."

"Me?" He screeched.

"Just do a quick fly around!"

"Don't worry, we'll watch your food for you!" Chimed Bit and Leena simultaneously.

He groaned and put his head in his hands.

. . .

The Wild Eagle took a ferocious bite into the roll he'd brought with him and ripped off a chunk savagely. "How dare they send me on a stupid babysitting mission?" He growled out while doing a flyby on a serious of steppes. He blew through a cloud and got a good look at the entire rocky terrain. "And there you little cussers are." He flew closer to the three tiger Zoids and large Dibison, ready to give them a piece of his mind. However, when the setting sun hid for a moment, a shadowy orange Zoid appeared, crouched on the edge of the high steppe, uncaring of the steep drop behind it. "How did those four get up there anyways?" He murmured, lowering even more and starting to circle the apparent battlefield slowly.

"Whoa!" Just as he was trying to get a close look at their adversary, thousands of scale like plates of metal lifted up and rippled into a darker shade, easily blending in to the growing shadows. After that, he barely had time to say, "What is that thing?" before it leapt towards Omari with frightening swiftness, snapping a jaw shut on one of his front legs.

"Get it off me, get it off me, get it off!" He shrieked, trying to shake the leg while the lizard held on with a vice like grip. Sparks began to fly before Mary ran at the chameleon and head-butted it in the side, sending it rolling across the steppe.

"There's still teeth stuck inside! Gross!"

The Zabrefangs' team leader swiveled his gun around and pointed it at the back of the color-shifting wild Zoid, "Nobody gets away with attacking my teammate!"

He let launch a volley of bullets, but as they neared the Lacerta it rolled its eyes backwards and, suddenly able to see the oncoming assault, flicked its tail and rendered the ammo useless.

"Uh oh."

From above Jamie continued to circle unnoticed. The four were practically getting massacred, and there was a lot of screaming going on, but in the same breath he had to complement them. They weren't shooting wildly and risking hitting each other, and nobody had been knocked out of the battle yet. A little strategy would have been nice though...

The four bedraggled young men and women had managed to form a line against the Lacerta and stood, breathing heavily and with wide eyes, in anticipation (and fear possibly). The chameleon had now shifted into a dark blue that was almost impossible to see against the growing night and (maybe) was pacing back and forth while flicking out its tongue.

Lineback licked his lips. "It can't dodge if we shoot everywhere."

Kirkland nodded. "On three, men!"

"And woman!" Interjected the blonde, pursing her lips.

"Oh yeah," the brunette deadpanned. "Ready, set, GO!"

They all started firing, peppering the other side of the steppe with bullet holes. Unfortunately, they didn't see the chameleon leap into the air until it landed with a screech of metal on top of Mary's Dibison. It gave a strange hiss and latched onto the back of her neck.

All the stomping and horn swinging did nothing to loosen its grip. Omari, at her right and the closest pilot, began to turn to attempt to help, but with a powerful swing of its body mixed with a swipe of its tail, the Lacerta sent him careening into his two remaining teammates, and they collapsed into a heap near the edge of the drop off.

The lights in the princess' cockpit began flashing, and this only made her pressing of random buttons more frenzied. She could _hear _its teeth breaking through layer after layer of muscly metal. Then the power switched to red, soon after flickering as well. And a siren went off near her left ear. It was telling her to _move_, but all she could do was cry, "It wasn't supposed to be like this!"

Then there was a mighty BOOM as if all the air had been compressed onto her, and her taurus' legs buckled. There was a screech of ripping metal and she saw the lizard fly across the steppe and land with a _thud _on its back. A large bird_—_Jamie in his Raynos_—_settled down and rose up on his hind legs and stretched his green wings wide, towering over the wild Zoid.

From her vantage point near the ground, she could see it swivel its red eyes around, as if judging the possible outcomes, before crawling on its belly over the side of the steppe.

"You saved me, Wild Eagle! Thank you! To repay you I'll_—_"

"Please, _please_ don't worry about it." He replied quickly in his deep voice. "Seriously. There is no need to repay me."

"Mmm, such a sexy voice." She said, giggling. The princess began to turn on her charm, fluttering her eyelashes. "I think my Dibison is broken. Do you think you could give me a ride back to base in your Raynos? It would be just _so_ romantic."

. . .

Many hours into the night the young aviator finally stumbled back into the Blitz base. After walking into the lounge, he opened the fridge from the adjoined kitchen in an attempt to cure his ravenous hunger.

Someone cleared their throat and he yelped and struck his head on its cold roof. Turning, he saw Brad doing the crossword on the couch with that particular smile that meant he was laughing at you on the inside.

"I didn't see you there." He explained miserably.

"Obviously." The pilot-for-hire smirked. "Anyways, I'll head off to bed now. Just wanted to make sure you made it home safe."

Surprised, Jamie raised his eyebrows. "Really? Er, thanks, Brad."

The taller man chose to say nothing, but did lean over and ruffle Jamie's hair. When he made it to the door he stopped. "Oh yeah. Bit left some food for you."

Glancing back into the recesses of the fridge, he found Tupperware marked 'Little Hero' and pulled it out.

"And Leena said something like 'The Blitz looks out for the Blitz.'" He shrugged and walked down the hallway, letting the door shut electronically behind him.

Things had been incredibly hectic around the base recently, and even though it was nice having things to do and friends to do them with constantly, it was even better to reminded of _just us four. _They'd been through a lot together and were truly each other's core unit.

He opened the microwave and smiled. "Thanks you guys."

. . .

_Next time on Zoids:_

"Me and the Liger Zero have...I guess...created our own _ideals_ along the way. We just _meld_ mind and machine and soul and pitch that against others and just _live. _In those moments there isn't money or power or glory. That's why I really hated the Backdraft—there was always some ulterior motive, some goal getting under my skin that just made me want to punch something. Next time on Zoids, Battle of the bandits—a taste of war. This...is real danger. Ready! FIGHT!"

* * *

><p><strong>Here's <strong>a question. What took Jamie so long to get back to base? HM! Just kidding haha

Anybody else think that if Zoids were a movie, the Fast and Furious guy would play Bit? He is the exact real life version of Bit in my opinion.

Something that has been infuriating me recently—I can't put an exclamation mark next to a question mark! I have to space them out like ! ? which is dumb. I don't understand why it isn't allowed. Other punctuation is allowed between them: !.? etc. Why is ffnet _doing this to me_? It's ruining my sentences, in my opinion. :walks off grouchily:

Another thing. I've seen a lot of fics where Bit is always stealing Leena's cookies. However, the show clearly shows Leena stealing his cookie. And Bit stealing her muffin. Just thought I should finally straighten this out.

The last three weeks were SO BUSY. I had no time with this chapter, arg! I guess I like how it turned out though. Could have been longer. Could have had a few more things off of the main plotline. Some segments deserve better dialogue and coherency. I still think Harry and Mary need to have some character development…so I think I'm going to throw them their own party in a future chapter. Whatever. All in all, just whatever. I like it. It's post-worthy. I'm crossing my fingers with the grammar, because I didn't get much editing time.

A good summary of this chapter is the world 'guffaw.' Yep.

Also, it's really annoying writing (and I'm sure reading) a bunch of characters in a scene. Which is why everybody is going to go back to their respective bases and hang around in the background until I chose to have them appear.

**Reviews: **Next chapter is going to be so epic. SO EPIC. I write it for my best reviewers. I will make a gushy paragraph for you at the end of it. :D Also, sorry for the 'last day' updating. I promise I've been extremely busy. Remember_—_look out for a new chapter by April 13th but hopefully much before. I want so badly to update faster for you two, especially when you're nice enough to leave a review every chapter (randomcat) and such wonderful reviews that I'm almost in tears of joy (darkelement). I hope this chapter tides you over, and that you get excited for the next one!

Alright, I've really got to go now. It's Spring Break and I'm still running all over the place...


	10. Episode 10

Episode Ten

_Battle of the Bandits—A Taste of War_

_"A-giving orders to his men, I guess there was a million."_

"I think we've found it, boss!"

Lady Fuma swiveled her head and her brunette hair fluttered around her shoulders. Her eyes were wide with a trace of excitement, but she walked slowly to lean over a man sitting at a computer. "Have you, Jubon?"

He pointed at a blip on the screen then enlarged it after a few seconds typing. "The radio waves you were having us send all over the Royal Cup battlefields have finally turned up these pieces." The screen shifted to show a Zoidian leg. "Koga's matched them up with a few pieces of that Zoid you said you were creating."

Her painted lips curved into a smile. "Could you show me the graphic of those radio images again?" She stood straight and a rotating image of a partial breastplate and claws appeared in front of her. "Perfect."

A little while later she entered a lounge with Ehga where her two other team members sat waiting for her. "You do know you're supposed to stand when your leader walks into the room?"

"My greatest apologies, oh mighty leader, but my third leg is a little sore." Negola smirked from his reclining position on a couch. She gave him a soft slap and ruffled his blue hair.

Ehga let out a disdainful huff while pulling off his green jacket and running a hand threw his messy mohawk.

Negola laughed at him and shrugged. "Hey, I can't help it that chicks dig my battle scars." He may joke about it, but they were far from sexy in Fuma's opinion. Any critical eye could see that the scars crisscrossing his body were just one horrible reminder after another of when Vega had hit them with the Charged Particle Cannon and the glass of his cockpit had exploded inwards.

Ehga hadn't fared much better. The right side of his body had caught fire in the explosion, and burn marks discolored his skin grotesquely. "I thought you brought us here for a mission." He said, rubbing his hands together. "Not for small talk."

"Well, would you rather go back to sneaking around gathering criminals for my army?" She stared him down. "So don't get snappy." Fluidly she slid into a seat near the once-tallest member of their group. The stump of a leg he was left with rested unmoving in the wheelchair he sat in. "Koga here has found me more missing pieces to my Zoid, haven't you Koga?" She smiled at him and he nodded.

"Unfortunately, re-con missions have found a few Zoid teams lingering around the area. One of them is the Blitz team."

She pursed her lips. "Of course things would run awry already." She crossed her legs in thought. "Whatever the case, the most important thing is that I get those parts. So you're going to avoid a battle." She pointed her gaze at Ehga and he grumbled. "I don't want to wait long though."

"Couldn't we just scare 'em off while you grab the parts or somethin'?"

"That, idiot, denotes a battle."

Ehga sneered. "What, scared?" In a flash she was up and had fisted a handful of his collar.

"Are we not the Fuma Team anymore? Don't I have a priority to keep you three safe?" Ehga kept the slight scowl on his face, but did turn his eyes down and away from her. She grabbed his face and yanked it so he had to look at her, then lifted up the hem of her shirt so they could all plainly see the state her abdomen would permanently be in. "Ultimate X's and their pilots think they're so damn great and powerful, don't they? Don't you want to knock them down a fucking peg? If you had any sense you would know that this is the only way we can. With this Zoid."

She stepped back and looked at them all. Pitiful. They were pathetic compared to their former cohesiveness; their former pride lay rotting wherever Koga's leg had shriveled and died. "The last Ultimate X and Bit Cloud are going to _suffer_. Don't you want to make him weep for mercy? _Power and glory will be ours again!" _She waited for the affirmation in their eyes - that flicker feeding off of their need for revenge. "_So,_ take the Neo Warsharks and _get. me. those. PARTS!_"

. . .

Kirkland turned right, and then swiveled left, hitting the boosters and panting heavily. _I think I'm going to make it this time! _His brown hair usually got spikier when sweaty, and now the two large points seemed to stand higher. Grinning, he had just enough time to widen his eyes while a shadow passed in front of his Zabrefang before he was slammed onto the ground.

"Too bad, so sad, Fluffy!" Cheered Bit from his position above him. The Jager stepped back and roared.

"Awesome job you three. You've made it farther than ever before." Leon smiled warmly from his position in the untouched Red Liger. He had been leading them through the maze of rocks, attempting to teach them how to better control their Zoids.

Omari's pale face popped up on their vidscreen, groaning. "I crashed again didn't I?"

Before anyone had a chance to respond, Jamie hailed them from the base. "Bit, Leon? I've found something weird and I just want to give you a heads up. Remember how we were experiencing those random blips on the radio and I thought it was malfunctioning? Well it turns out it's not. There's definitely three fairly stationary Zoids just north of here."

The Ultimate X pilot leaped up onto a tall rock with the Liger Zero and glanced around. "There's nothing around here, Jamie. It's clear for miles."

"That's exactly my point." There was a pause, as if the younger boy was hesitating. "I think they're Warsharks." A stillness settled over them all. One of those moments where you held onto those last vestiges of calm, knowing that the second you let go the storm would hit. Three Warsharks wouldn't be sneaking around unless they were Fuma's. And the Fuma team wouldn't be around unless the Undrafted was around. And from recent experience, the Undrafted were never around for tea and crumpets.

"We have to see what they're doing." Bit decided, leaping down to the ground. "Send me the map, Jamie."

"That sounds dangerous." Lineback said, pulling at his short black hair nervously. "If they're leaving us alone, shouldn't we leave them alone?"

His fellow Liger pilot frowned. "We shouldn't go picking fights, Bit. It isn't honorable."

Bit shot him an icy glare and the tension crackled. "They're up to something, and it isn't good. I'm not going to let them get away with it." He swerved the rest of the way out of the boulders. "You don't have to come if you don't want to." The Jager's claws dug into the sand, and his booster fired, sending him down into the desert.

"Hothead." Leon muttered before taking off after him, adjusting his shoulder armor. "Don't be ridiculous, of course I'm going with you."

The three tiger type Zoids crawled together and had a pow-wow amidst the maze. "Okay, men," Kirkland started off, "we could run scared and save our skins like we usually do. But this is a time for heroes! Are we going to let Leon and Bit suffer at the hands of the enemy?" His teammates stared blankly at him, so he answered himself. "No! We are the mighty Zabre Fangs! Protectors of the weak and feared by the strong! Here us roar!" His Zabrefang let out a mostly menacing growl, slightly failing in frightening levels because of the sparks that flew out of his Zoid afterwards. "Charge!"

He ran into the desert, following the dust clouds left by the red and blue Ligers. Omari and Lineback shared a glance, shrugged, and hurried after him, yelling.

"Where do you think you three are going!" Squealed Jamie, mashing on the comm-link. "You're going to get yourselves killed!" He hung his head, sighing mournfully. "Why can't anyone just listen to me?"

. . .

The two Ligers crouched on the edge of a former battlefield. In a large area, the ground looked dead, and a huge crater opened up beneath them. The remnants of something powerful.

Bit Cloud's heart thumped faster with the thrill of a battle, or fear, (hopefully it was just adrenaline), because, even though it was impossible, half of him expected (perhaps wanted?) the Berserk Fury to crest the hill and challenge him.

The Tigers team leapt over their heads, landing on the soft dirt. "So the enemy's somewhere around here, eh?" Kirkland said, cracking his knuckles.

"No!" Bit cried, eyes widening.

"Get off the ground!" Leon shouted. It was then Kirkland noticed that the Ligers stood on a thin sheet of rock, however, when he made to get himself to safety, spikes rose out of the ground and ripped through the front feet of his Zoid. He fell to the ground sparking.

"Move!" He yelled to his remaining teammates, but to no avail. They were quickly dispatched as well, with a shot in the neck and a torpedo to the stomach.

"_Nyx_." Bit cursed, unable to do anything fast enough.

"At least we know there's at least three Neo Warsharks." Leon added, trying to remain optimistic.

"Ehga, Koga, and Negola. Am I right?" He asked into the void, hoping to get a response. Ehga was quick to answer.

"So honored you remember us, _Ultimate X._" He sneered.

"We aren't looking for a fight." Leon ventured, "We're just wondering why you're here."

"Why don't you get your nose out of our business?" Negola replied, inching his Zoids head above the surface so they could get a good look at the sonic cannon mounted in its mouth. Sand spilled from the Warshark's teeth and he gnashed them menacingly.

"You made it our business the first time you ever attacked us. And you just froze three innocent Zoids." Bit grimaced. "Explain yourselves."

"The sharks are hungry," the scarred man growled, "and it's feeding time." He sunk back into the dirt, purposefully leaving the fin-like spikes above ground level for a few extra seconds so the two pilots could watch the beginning of the slither towards them.

"I think it's time for Plan Ehga!" Cackled the aforementioned Fuma team pilot. "Koga, you know what to do."

The stoic man neglected to return a comment, but he did turn his back on the battle and begin to swim off.

Above ground it was quiet, and Bit and Leon kept their guard up while scanning the field in front of them. Wait..."They're beside us!" Yelled Bit, and sure enough Negola and Ehga had leapt up on either side of them, their Warsharks letting out a fishlike shriek. Simultaneously triggering their beam cannons, they forced the Ligers to dodge off of the safe rock and onto the ground surrounding them.

Negola quickly dived back into the ground, but Ehga's shot had actually propelled him higher into the air, giving him enough time to charge another shot from his sonic cannon. "He's going to push us to right where he wants us." Spoke Leon, trying to get his bearings before he dodged straight into the sure-to-be waiting mouth of Negola.

Instead, the blue-haired man's shark's jaws closed around the Liger Zero's leg and pulled it halfway into the ground. The Ultimate X howled and Ehga let off the shot straight for the cockpit.

Then, the shooting started. At first it was hard to tell where it was coming from, the radio crackled with it and sand flew up into the air. However, it settled quickly and Ehga's nose could be seen sparking before he spiraled back underground, and when Bit looked down he could just see the top of Negola's Warshark gripping onto him. Letting out a battle cry, he plunged the Liger's mouth after it, and was able to rip off the torpedo mount before it had swum away. Only belatedly he noticed that the sonic cannon had grazed the Liger's shoulder.

"That's what you get for leaving without us." Ground out Brad who had skidded onto the battlefield with Leena in tow.

The blonde warrior pushed his hair from his eyes, grinning, "I've never appreciated long range weapons more in my life."

Their radios blew up with chatter again; helping them to realize all the gunshots hadn't come from the Blitz team. Naomi's voice broke through the static. "We're being attacked! Leon, where are you?" There was a hiss and she yelled. "Something just hit the base!"

For a second they heard Sebastian's frantic voice screaming 'Shoot, shoot shoot!' before the crackling static overtook the signal again.

Brad set his jaw. "Go. _Now._"

Leon furrowed his brows, the stress evident in his voice. "Maybe you should go, your Zoid is faster."

The long-haired man grimaced. _As much as I want to..._"No. This is my team and we fight better as a unit. Same with you. So go help her or I'll have to kill you later."

His former team member nodded and hit the ion boosters. "Be careful." He said just before his radio cut out as well.

"The Blitz team has done this before haven't we?" Leena popped her neck. "We'll do it again and be home for Christmas."

"Do what? Fire at Harry? Well excuse me while I go get him then. Should I tie him up like last time or not?"

. . .

...And when he arrived there was smoke rising into the sky, and everyone was just running, and there were just _so_ many enemies, and somebody was crying, and every time one went down another came up, and for every time he saved someone they received two more bruises, and everyone was screaming each others names, and soon everyone was just screaming.

"Leon, left!"

He pulled the wild Liger in a sweeping curve, and just avoided the cobra that leapt from the ground beneath him. Naomi's in-built land mine sensors in the Gustav were currently being extremely helpful for these underground type Zoids. In the chaos of battle, there was no way he could pay attention to the shifting sands.

"Can you cover me while I get up this hill? I need to get into the 'sniper."

"There's no way." Leon shook his head while ripping through as many of the Sinkers as possible with his Metal-Zi blades. "The Gustav can take more hits anyways. Now would be a good time to test out those cannons mounted above the cockpilot."

"Oh yeah, your cannons that tampered with the structural integrity of my Gustav!" She shouted, but released the hatch and rolled out the small weapons. The aiming range was small, but she could now shoot those that were currently attacking her nose. Turns out it wasn't fun to have a Zoid with such a head so close to the ground.

A multitude of shots hit her in the side and she swung to attempt to barrel over them. They were too agile for her, but she heard a _thunk _as Leon bounded from the roof of the Gustav to squash those below him.

Then, a _screech_ as a Sinker sacrificed itself on the tread and forced her forward momentum into a continuous counterclockwise loop. "Zoid Eve—" she swore as she completed her accidental turn so to get back to helping Leon protect her right flank. The bullets were becoming a constant pounding in her ears, and it felt like the Desert Gang was trying to rip everything she owned to pieces.

In a strange counter-move, mid-turn she released her grappling hooks. The Gustav was surrounded by enemies, so it was with no fear that she loosed her makeshift weapons into the crowd. The hooks snared two Sinkers and sucked them against her layered shell; the rest of the Sinkers reacted belatedly, and the two stingrays were soon riddled with holes.

"Nice move!" Shouted Leon from where he batted away the Sinkers. The red of his Liger and the glare of the sun almost made it seem like he was covered in blood. She shivered.

"Unfortunately I can't do it again; the hooks are jammed from bullets!"

He studied the sparking stingrays for half a moment. "Your Gustav is wearing earrings."

She laughed loud, even as the whole Gustav shook with the Undrafted's blasts. "How fitting for a Martian woman."

. . .

Brad started the fight, accelerating around the lip of the crater, trying to draw out the Warsharks. "Go fish!" He shouted out when a fin popped momentarily out of the sand and he swiveled his gun around to hit it. His shots missed, and he was soon thrown meters into the air and landed with a thud, having been head-butted in the belly. A distance off, it stuck its head out of the dirt and fired off an angled torpedo shot.

He threw his arms over his head, bracing for impact, but he heard Leena shout through the radio, and the rockets went down early in a barrage of ammo. "I am a GUNsniper!" She laughed uproariously.

Abruptly, in the midst of her celebration, the ground started swirling beneath her feet, and she felt her Zoid sinking. "What's happening?" She cried, trying to twist her way out of it. The whirlpool only widened however, and she was soon slipping further down the side of the crater, shrieking every inch.

Despite the shouts of her teammates, she continued in her downwards slide, finally stopping with a bang in the center of the crater, at least waist deep in the sand. Luckily, her top two Gatling guns were above ground level, and when she caught sight of a Zoid swimming (at EYELEVEL) she fired as much as she could at it, hoping to break through its shield. She wasn't lucky enough however, and, fearfully, only gained the faint sound of a sinister laugh.

On the other side of the crater, the mohawked man was swimming circles around Bit. The Jager most likely could have easily leapt over it, but the blonde pilot seemed to be waiting for something. Ehga closed in tighter, dipping the fin below the surface, momentarily disappearing from sight. A beat. Then, in unison, the two Zoids moved. The Liger leapt and propelled itself outside of the former radius, and the Warshark clawed at the air he had just been in_—_so close that the air was doubtless still stale with his exhale.

"Hey, draw them over here so I can get some shots off!" Shouted Leena to her closest partner. It happened to be Brad.

"Don't tell me what to do!" He retorted, aiming behind him at another attack by Negola. He was trying to draw him out of the ground so...perfect! That blue-haired freak was going down_—_he launched his high voltage net directly behind him, and it landed on top of the Warshark's head. Acting quickly, the shark sunk out of sight before the net could fully close, and the electricity dispersed through the dirt.

He growled, annoyed, but decided to try out her plan, since he had no time to think of another just yet. The fox let out an eerie howl that made the sand grains tremble, and shot forward. Just as he was passing the prime position for her aiming abilities she starting shooting at his legs. "I didn't take any of your food!" He hollered, his Zoid stumbling.

"I was trying to hold it off, you inconsiderate mercenary!"

He looked down too late, and the beast rose from beneath him, toppling him onto his side and dragging him down into the depression.

"Get up!" Leena called, as if her commands had suddenly gained magical properties. "You're going to hit me!"

"Move then!" he hollered, unable to do anything as he was pulled faster and completely lost his orientation in the waves of sand.

She roared. "I _CAN'T!_"

A huge _Slam! _followed, coupled with an echo that reverberated through the ground. The sand sprayed upwards like a cloud of smoke.

When Leena came back into reality, she immediately patted herself down, relieved not to find an injury. "Lucky, lucky, lucky. Brad?" she ventured. She tapped the comm-link another time, thinking it had broken. It hadn't. She listened harder and heard a low moan from the other end. "I think I'm out." The Shadowfox pilot responded through gritted teeth.

Bit looked into the Hellhole, distracted by the seemingly violent explosion. He let out an angry yell. "Be more careful with my friends!"

Ehga rolled his eyes, "Yes, master."

Ignoring him, Bit vaulted towards the smug pilot below, who was congratulating himself on his victory. Ehga might have warned him, because the Neo Warshark turned and hissed, slithering back underground. Unable to stop his own impetus by then, he instead accelerated, heading towards the lip of the cavity. He made it to the edge, able to pull himself onto slightly more solid ground - a better surface to run on. It didn't halt the Warsharks for long though, and the three of them soon were circling the physical limbo like a chaotic DNA strand, all simultaneously snapping at eachother's heels.

Growing tired of it, the green eyed young man slammed on the brakes, most likely gaining bruises from his own seat restraints. "He'll attack at two-o'-clock." He murmured, and leapt. "Strike...Laser...CLAW!"

The Neo Warshark emerged as well, and he let out another raw yell, _so _ready to bring down the Liger's claw and take Negola out of commission. But the angle was all wrong, he was too far away to get in a shot_—_and this had to be done in one hit. To make the confrontation worse, instead of trying to fire on him, as Bit had been expecting for a mid-air battle, Negola turned his shield on.

There were times to go overboard and be unnecessarily dramatic; times to just feel his way through a battle, despite what was accepted as possible or not...and, unfortunately, this was going to be one of those times. Thinking just wasn't cutting it. He blinked, as if resetting, and pulled the ion boosters exactly the right amount to roll the Jager barely over the crackling pink shield, his claws scraping against it, altering his momentum just enough. He had absolutely no plan, just poured everything, adrenaline sweat blood anger, into those few seconds. His mind body and soul cared only about the immediate moment, the images passing slowly through his vision.

There was nothing else.

Expertly, he ducked just enough under the powerful shield, able to sink his teeth into the tail of the large fish. It thrashed. The edge of the shield sliced through the cockpit's bulletproof glass. The line splintered, smashing razor tipped shards harshly into him. He yelled, twisting the Liger upside down. Neo Warshark belly up, good. Wrench it downwards. Landing. Crash. Sand.

Leena's voice wavered through the radio, "Bit?"

He couldn't do much more than cough in response, getting the wind back into his lungs, and roll the Liger over. The Neo Warshark's shield fizzled and died, leaving Negola groaning and frozen.

From underground, Ehga cursed. He might be able to get a shot at the Liger if he hurried..."Retreat, idiot." he heard Koga say through the radio. Shocked, he narrowed his eyes at the presumptuous man.

"I've got what we came for. Grab Negola and get out of here. I've already ordered the retreat at the second front."

The battle-hungry pilot grimaced, but nodded. Zooming upwards, he broke through the barrier between sand and air, screeching into the sky. After reaching a destined point, he flipped and plunged back downwards, grasping the tail of Negola's Zoid before disappearing underground.

The crater was silent for a full ten minutes after, and the three warriors soon hesitantly agreed that the battle was over.

"I...don't like them." Leena said, sticking her bottom lip out.

Bit raised a sleeve to wipe a trickle of sweat from his forehead. "I wish I knew what they were up too." He frowned.

Brad snorted. "C'mon kids, we've got to help everyone else."

. . .

The biting smell of alcohol swept up his nose and he coughed uncomfortably.

"Oh stop squirming, you big baby." Leena said, throwing away the package for an alcohol swab.

"You'd be doing a lot worse if a crazed girl had just ripped your scab off." The mercenary winced a little while Leena cleaned the gash along his temple and she quickly murmured an apology. She blew a light breath onto it to hopefully stop the stinging, and taped on a gauze pad. She gave him one last once-over and he shooed her away with his hand.

"Brad, you went inside the Feugal base right?" She moved onto Bit who up until that point had peeled off his shirt and was picking out shards of glass from his chest and arm with a pair of tweezers. Getting another damp cloth, she wiped away the small spots of blood then snatched the tweezers out of his hand.

"Don't worry about the Gustav, Leena. The inside is not damaged nearly as much as the outside."

She probably didn't notice, but with the way she was gripping his elbow and had her face so close to his bicep, he was having a hard time avoiding brushing his fingers against her stomach. Her _lower_ stomach. He wondered if _really_ she would kill him if he just...stopped...bending his hand.

Jamie walked in with a tired sigh, immediately gaining an apologetic look when he noticed his teammates getting bandaged up. "I've set a course for Flyheight. We should be there in a day or so."

"Hopefully we can stay out of trouble until then."

She ran a hand down his chest, searching for any pieces she'd missed. He bit his lip. "That's the best I can do. We don't exactly have a million bandages."

"It's okay. Thanks." He replied a little breathlessly. They made the mistake of catching eyes, and, suddenly embarrassed, simultaneously blushed and looked in opposite directions as she snatched her hand away from where it rested on his abdomen.

Brad had a demure smile on his face. "Were you able to talk with Harry?"

"No, he was hysterical." Leena answered quickly, shaking the redness from her cheeks. "Mary and I barely got him to his base."

_They had arrived at the former battle area and found Harry's Iron Kong standing empty while he screamed and tore through a pile of burnt metal littering the ground. 'Benjamin!' he cried, over and over. The entire scene had been strangely numbing_—_you couldn't help him, only stand and watch_.

"I shouldn't have taken everyone into battle." Bit murmured, remorse evident in his eyes. "Something worse could have happened."

"Don't be ridiculous, Bit." Leena said crossly.

"Look, somebody's got to fight back. If the Blitz has to pick up the ZBC's slack, then we pick up the slack. I'm sure I speak for everyone who fought today when I say I wouldn't be able to call myself a Zoid pilot if I ran and hid." Brad continued.

Jamie finally settled into a seat, taking in the momentary thoughtful tranquility with his friends. In time, not wanting the silence to stretch into uneasiness, he asked "Is the Feugal or Champ team taking care of the Tigers team right now?"

Bit's eyes bugged out. "Ack!"

. . .

When Bit went to visit Harry, he did what he usually did: showed up uninvited, got lost, and then ended up somewhere that seemed right. When he walked into the living room he noticed a marble pillar with a plush cushion on top, holding a tiny piece of technology. This place seemed right.

Nobody was in sight, so he just hung around, absentmindedly taking in the decorations and whatnot. Eventually Harry and Sebastian walked in pushing a wheelbarrow filled with metal. Well actually, Harry walked in, and Sebastian pushed the wheelbarrow.

"Hey, Dr. Frankenstein, I was wondering when you'd show up."

The one-day king of a corporation had spent hours picking through the wreckage, and had found the friendly robot's memory chip. They had all held a wild celebration afterwards too.

"Uh, good afternoon, Bit." Harry smiled while Sebastian wheeled around the newcomer, accidentally tipping all of the metal on the floor behind him with a resounding crash.

They just stared at each other for a few seconds.

"I came to see Benjamin." He eventually ventured, throwing a thumb in the direction of the pedestal. Taking notice of the chunks of metal he added, "I figured you would have ordered a new body for him."

"Yes, but," Harry looked forlornly into the distance, "all of the manufacturing companies I deal with don't make his model, much less a robot shell! I would have to kill another robot and replace it's memory with Benjamin's. I just couldn't do it!" He finished, shedding tears and clutching at his heart.

"And it's not like I would trust anyone else to rebuild my greatest friend!" Beeped Sebastian.

"Exactly." Harry smiled, fondly looking at the future robot on the floor.

Bit couldn't keep the smile off of his face either. The whole situation was a little warm and fuzzy. "If you need any help," he scratched the back of his head, "well, I really want to help."

Sebastian heaved a sigh of relief. "Thank you! We don't even know where to start!"

A chuckle bubbled up in his throat, but their attention was instead drawn to a quiet knock from the entryway.

"Hey, boys." Leena said shyly from the doorway. "I just wanted to talk to Harry for a second."

"Me?" The corporation prince asked, obvious pleasure written across his features.

"Yeah, so?" She blushed, glancing away. Bit whistled and guffawed. "Oh_—_" She grumbled, most likely muttering some obscenities as she grabbed Harry and yanked him to a corner of the room. He didn't react, a dreamy look still on his face.

"I...just wanted to ask you a question." Leena asked, stepping back and turning slightly pink. "You don't think I hate you right?"

He snapped back into the real world, clasping her hand between his. "Leena, I've always known you love me with your entire heart, just as I do you."

"I wouldn't say _that_ much." She replied dryly. "But," she continued, tugging at her hand a little, but not enough to actually pull it from his grasp, "I don't want you, or anyone, thinking I wouldn't care if they were hurt or died, okay?"

She looked down. "Just thinking it could have been a person instead of a robot scares me, Harry."

"Me too." He uttered softly. "I would have thrown myself off a cliff if I had lost you."

"You better not. That's crazy and excessive."

"I would do anything for you."

"Urg." She harrumphed, and pulled her hand from his, crossing her arms. "You're completely misunderstanding what I'm trying to say."

"What are you trying to say, dear?" He said, reaching his hands up to hold her face and staring into her eyes sincerely.

She blushed a little. "I'm...sorry for treating you so bad all the time!"

Her glance flickered, and Harry immediately looked over his shoulder to see Bit awkwardly trying to not pay attention to what they were talking about. He frowned. It really wasn't fair. It wasn't fair that the idiot was just so damn...ugh..._cute._ Whatever. Bit had tanner skin than he did, from running around outside doing Helic knows what, and unkempt, windblown, sunlit hair. Of course, that wasn't his love's _type _(right?), but the junk dealer seemed to always provide enough of a distraction. Who did he think he was anyway? Flashing his pearly whites and trying to get into he and Leena's alone time. Hmph!

It was hard not to hear them since the room was basically silent. Not to mention huge enough to leave a slight echo. Regardless, he tried not to deliberately observe them too much, and instead attempted to occupy himself by holding up bits of metal to Sebastian's body for comparison. Why would she come over here to talk to Harry alone anyway? And she kept blushing...and he kept touching her...and they were communicating in such low voices. He damn well didn't like it. Of course that was because he was forced to witness it. Yeah... He ignored the strange tense feeling in his gut and the grayish anger that reminded him of how he felt during battle.

_Ignore them. Ignoreignore. _He blinked and got that weird feeling that he had been zoned out and staring for awhile. Yup, Harry and Leena were both turned around peering at him. He had definitely been staring. Whoops.

"Oi, Bit," she suddenly hollered to him, and he raised an eyebrow in response, hoping nothing too bad would become of it. "Didn't I tell you if you don't keep those cuts covered they'd scar?" She walked closer and inspected the few she could see near his collar, shaking her head.

"I'm wearing my jacket aren't I?"

She pursed her lips and prodded him in the chest with a finger. "You could at least wear antiseptic. Do you want to keel over or something?" She jabbed at him again, "This one here looks like it's about to become infected!"

"How can something _look_ like it's _going_ to be infected? That doesn't make any sense!"

They quickly fell into an amiable (for them) argument, unfortunately eventually forgetting about Harry, Sebastian, and the scattered Benjamin who all looked on uncomfortably. When the altercation escalated, and she, incensed, tore off his jacket to make a point, and he grabbed her by the ribcage and held her further away, needling her about something else, he couldn't help but feel the tiniest bit of thrill.

He couldn't really say if jealousy had been the right word, but he could admit to himself that, compared to talking quietly to Harry, he felt a lot better when _she_ was fussing over _him_.

. . .

_Next time on Zoids:_

"This...just call me Cisco actually. I'm not one to feel fear, but I've got the ladies to think about. And when our base begins to truly feel the things that go bump in the night...I have to suck it up and make some quick decisions, regardless of what it does to my pride. At least it gives the twins a semblance of safety. Next time on Zoids, the sensation of fear_—_the last group arrives. C'mon Jack, gotta be...nimble. Ready! Fight!"

* * *

><p><strong>So, <strong>a few things. Firstly, I like the line 'how fitting for a Martian woman.' I think it fits with Naomi well. Secondly, Brad didn't do that great in today's fight :/ Well, he saved Bit's life, so I suppose it's relative. Tiger's team...they're funny and I need to stop writing them because I forget about them two seconds later. And final comment, I tried giving Harry some depth and serious stuff and I screwed it up! Well not totally, these things have to be done in baby steps. Next time we see Harry hopefully he'll have the opportunity to be less one-dimensional.

Are the flirting scenes awkward? Heh heh -_-U

And this episode was almost completely battle scene! Very different than what I expected from myself when I started, so that's actually exciting for me. I hope you enjoyed the fight, and have some particularly strong images in your head. At least please leave with the images of the Gustav wearing Striker earrings, and Bit and Negola in the shield vs. Jager mid-air battle. And maybe even the Neo Warshark swimming at eye-level for Leena on account of the large crater.

What else? You get even more introduced to the Fuma team. They're all injured. I took liberties there_—_assuming four Genobreakers instead of three (the canon amount). I don't think the show ever tells if they lived or not, so I think I'm allowed to push the envelope there. Do you like Fuma's reasons for being evil yet? Do you understand her?

**Reviews: **I'm so sorry for the late update. I kept saying how I was holding myself to a schedule and that completely failed...if it makes you feel better this chapter was actually done on time...I just really wanted to edit it before posting. And I'm actually at my busiest weeks of school and here I am taking breaks that I really should not be taking! I can't wait for summer so I can write up a storm. I love writing this so much. But to my reviewers, I appreciate you so much. I want to be a better writer and make the story super interesting just for you. **DarkElement**? You make this all worth it for me. Your reviews make me feel like I've done something right. Even if you never reviewed again, I could read your comments and write the last chapters with gusto. And **ra****ndomcat**, I've said it before and I'll say it again: thank you so much for reviewing every chapter. It means a lot to me that you take the time to do that. Since you agreed that too many characters in a conversation confuses things, I'm going to keep trying to limit 'talkers' to four for as many, if not all, future scenes. This episode is dedicated wholeheartedly to you two. And a new reviewer, **Gojiralee**, thanks for saying I capture the spirit, I will try to keep it and keep watching episodes randomly to refreshen myself. And please post up this story you mentioned, I would love to read it!

:D Three weeks till summer!


	11. Episode 11

Episode Eleven

_The Sensation of Fear—The Last Group Arrives_

"_Father and I went to camp, along with Captain Gooding,"_

**_VA-ROOM_**

Jack sat up wildly in his bed, simultaneously slapping himself in the face in surprise. For a moment there was just the echo of his startled breath, then...

**_VA-SCREEECH_**

…the sound of something tearing through metal. Something screeching and hissing and making the floor rumble underneath his feet, he had already scrambled into his boots, and grabbing his thick gloves he sprinted for the hangar and their Zoids. Why hadn't the alarms sounded earlier? Where were the twins?

Wrenching open the hangar door, he ran blindly through the dark, searching for his keening Lightning Saix. Only a few moments later the Tasker sisters followed him as well, sharing a flashlight and catching him on the shoulder.

"Wait." Chris breathed.

And there was only silence. The slimming moon splashed like jagged scars on the cement ground, the three slashes in the hangar door reminiscent of a large cat, playing with its toy mouse. He felt a few goose-bumps rise on the back of his neck. "Why?"

He heard the swish of Kelly's hair as she shook her head. "Should we check out there?"

The blue-haired man gritted his teeth, but nodded. After turning on the electric reserves, they searched, but there was nothing to find. Zephyr herself held her breath as they scoured the ground for even a footprint.

"It's like a ghost." Kelly shivered. Desert nights got cold.

"Except it couldn't be." Chris scowled, combing her fingers through her brown hair. "Whatever it was, it won't be able to resist coming back."

"All we have to do is wait and watch."

"Even though I've never been the patient type." Jack's face remained impassive, and he tightened his bandana around his forehead. "You guys go get some sleep. I'll keep first guard."

. . .

"That looks awesome." Jamie pointed upwards at a tall rotating building. The words 'Fly High' encircled it with a flourish of dazzle. "Dessert up there is a must."

"But I've been scared of heights ever since ever. There's a reason I chose a land base." Dr. Toros responded.

"Who ever said you were coming with me?"

"Oh, I see. You want to take Mary is it? Great idea. She's rich y'know." The good doctor waggled his eyebrows and Jamie glowered.

"No! I'll be by myself. And in between looking at the entire city I'll look down at you and think, wow he reminds me of a little ant."

"Whatever flies your plane, kiddo."

. . .

With a flick of his wrist, Jack turned off the solar power cells they'd charged during the day. He'd save them for when the reserves ran out tonight.

"My turn." Chris appeared in the doorway clad in her revealing blue body suit. Without pretenses, she gestured for him to get up.

He scratched at the tattoo on his nose. "You think we'll be jumping into battle?"

"I think we'd do well to be prepared this time." She flicked her hair and slid into the seat. It was still warm from his body.

"Always the girl scout."

She glanced back at him lingering in the doorway. "Strategist."

"Care for company?"

His face remained stoic, his eyes unreadable, further proof that she was always illiterate when it came to Jack Cisco. Finally she turned her back on him and talked to the dashboard. "I care for sleep. As should you."

She heard the rustle of his clothes as he left.

...

It was Kelly's watch when the hum began. Soft at first, like a mother's lullaby, then growing into the sound of thousands of fiery bees. Kelly snapped to attention, rubbing the haze from her eyes. "Where are you, you little cusser?"

Running a scan on the immediate area, she found the warmest heat signature to their left. Which meant whatever it was probably had appeared near the wall of the kitchen. She hit the emergency switch, and the lights dimmed to red and began to blink a harsh staccato: the warning. She heard the growls of the Lightning Saix from the helm as Jack and Chris tore out of the hangar door.

When Kelly caught up with them, they were back to back in front of a gash in their exterior wall. The green suited beauty's Saix broke the silence with a loose growl. "They disappeared right under our noses."

"We caught a glimpse." Her sister mumbled, staring out into the desert. "Some sort of four-legged beast."

A part of her knew whoever it was had already gone, so with an air of mourning she took in the state of their base. Two shallow scars ran a few meters across. Horizontal. Like a giant running razor-tipped fingernails along their wall.

Then it hit her like a brick wall and no brakes.

"Jack." She wavered, her voice dimmed. She cleared it and took a moment to control herself. "We have juice for tomorrow right?"

He answered with a distracted grunt, hardly masking the layer of fury.

"I think we should go to the nearest town."

"There's no such thing as ghosts, Kelly. Even if it did disappear in front of my damn nose."

She visibly gulped. Jack turned surprised eyes to her, finally noticing the slight fear interlaced within her own. "It's a countdown. Three yesterday. Two today."

Her twin gripped the controls, understanding, as a tremble slithered down her spine. This was why Kelly was acting out of character.

They weren't the type to back down from a challenge, but pure malice is a fearsome opponent indeed.

. . .

They weren't lost. No way. Was that a Christmas tree?

Kirkland stopped and stared for a moment. Lineback took a left and Omari took a right, and in a few seconds he had even lost them. No, not lost. They had just split up for the time being.

"Oh, who am I kidding?" He jogged over to the pine tree and wrapped his arms around its Charlie Brown-esque trunk. "Help me, Grandmother Willow."

. . .

They hadn't even put up the pretense of going to sleep in their rooms. The Tasker twins sat side by side in the common room, each with a swirling cup of coffee sending tendrils of smoke around their dark bagged eyes. Catching naps in the afternoon just wasn't enough, despite their battling histories.

Jack wasn't faring much better, choosing to fuel every stray emotion into constant movement. He had already checked the perimeter countless times and had remobilized his Zoid every hour. Perhaps they had lost their tormentor?

Bright skies had allowed fast movement over the cracked earth of the summer desert, but he was unable to charge batteries while moving. The juice from the setting sun was going to have to be enough. He had pushed that base for all it was worth, the strange situation forcing him to hang all of their needs on a single hope and a spit of luck. The girls hadn't said a word about backing down, and were completely prepared for a battle, but he could catch that flicker of fear when he left them too much time to think.

At least he had one more day. As long as Kelly was right. He _hoped_ that Kelly was right.

The base buzzed, and there was a _chu-chuck-SCREAM_ as something tore through their thick outer layer. He followed it into his room with just enough time to see a gleaming red eye staring at him.

.

The clean cut was an obvious 'one,' and Kelly was now confident that her hypothesis was correct. She felt a little of the worry lift off of her shoulders; it was easier for her to stay in control when rationality bled into insanity.

Chris was secretly glad this obstruction hadn't torn into her own room. Even though she knew she wouldn't be able to fall asleep in her own bed for a while, regardless. She couldn't even see the stars through it. Clouds were rolling in.

Jack had no comment for himself except the need to fight when their clock hit zero. One glance at the twins held him back though. They were they best teammates he could ever ask for, but a lack of snarling alpha male testosterone levels didn't have them baring their teeth as his were. Instead, a murmur of unrest passed between them. The sensation of fear in their eyes.

. . .

"Thanks for coming with me, Brad. It's stupid that this place is eighteen or older or whatever." Jamie took a bite of his fancy ice cream. "Do they think I'm going to break the glass and jump out a window or what?"

Brad, who was not having an espresso, responded with a shrug. "I guess it's better than being lost in those cluttered streets."

"It looks navigable from here." Jamie pointed down at the edge of the town, where the lights abruptly ended and the dark desert began. "They built it in a circle, see the limit?"

The elder man studied Jamie's remarks closely, taking a swig from his dark beer. He finally rounded keen eyes on the aviator. "I'll humor you with the pointless circle for now, but answer me this: why not just build a bigger circle instead of building things on top of each other?"

The gray-eyed youth laughed, running a hand through his short hair. "If I could answer that, I'd be a civil engineer, not a pilot."

A waitress walked up to them, a happy smile on her face. "Anything else for you two?"

Jamie shook his head and Brad made a point of picking up his beer and drinking it. "I overheard you talking about our town. I'll give you my favorite introduction." The lady poured them two glasses of water, and then beckoned them forward with a conspiratorial wave of her hand.

"The city's haunted."

Brad immediately turned away with a roll of his eyes; he was too old for this. Jamie, on the other hand, could have caught a bat in his mouth. The lady chose to focus on him_—_good riddance. He could enjoy his beer in peace.

As the mercenary looked out of the vast windows he studied their bases on the edge of town. They melded right into the bespattered city, a strange sort of motley crew. In one of the windows of the Hover Cargo the lights were flickering a harsh staccato, and Brad took a moment to use his incredibly basic knowledge of Morse code to try and translate them.

_"Hellooo! I'm in here!" Leena shrieked into Bit's ear while angrily flipping the light switch repeatedly on and off._

_"Okay, I see you! Time to stop yelling!"_

"_Aren't you going to apologize for thinking I was dead?"_

_The Zoid warrior punched himself in the head and scowled internally. "I'm sorry I turned the lights off when you were in the room."_

_"AND?"_

_"And that you bruised your leg on the minefield that is the arduous path from the couch to the doorway."_

_She half frowned, only moderately accepting the apology. The lights continued their flutter, giving their expressions a choppy look, like a reel from an old movie. The blonde's patience wore thin in segmented motions until he finally heaved a great sigh of, "Are you going to stop that anytime soon?"_

_"No."_

_"That's it. You are utterly insane. I'm going back into town."_

_"Well so am I."_

_"I call the jeep."_

_"How can YOU take the jeep when MY leg is PURPLE? Do you have no decency?"_

_Bit put a hand to his forehead in mock astonishment. "How could I forget the gentleman's code?" In a voice thickened with false worry he continued, "Does the baby need me to kiss it to make it better?"_

Nah. It was too random to be any sort of SOS. Also, interesting. He never thought Doc was the rave type.

"Hey, what's that?" Jamie pointed, most likely cutting the waitress off mid-paragraph. Their three pairs of eyes focused in on a tendril of smoke that was entwining it's way into the night sky.

"_IT._" Offered the woman helpfully, before a flame lit up the particular hill. "Going after your bases. A cursed wild spirit, attracted to the invisible energy of the city. A ghost of the undead." The blaze grew in size until what was definitely a Zoid was completely consumed by the heat and electricity of its dying circuits.

The two team members shared a surprised look before simultaneously leaping from the table. "Thanks for the ice cream, it was delicious," called Jamie as they rounded the exit onto the stairs.

"Wait! You didn't pay!" Squawked the forlorn female as her company deserted her. "Argh! Zoid warriors!"

. . .

Dusk fell rapidly on his third day in the city, and unfortunately for him, the dim light made the side streets that much harder to navigate. Fishing in his lab coat pockets for a Teleporting Compass Alert! yielded _another_ fruitless search, and with a heavy sigh, Dr. Toros rounded yet another corner.

The city here seemed older, warped around itself and layered like a hard-packed bumpy dirt road. Buildings squeezed together, and dusty alleyways held intricate mosaics underfoot, as if they had once held grand attention before runoff mud had filled their cracks.

He continued aimlessly, sure that luck would see him through. Finally, beneath an overhang that shaded pots of spindly weeds, he spotted an old woman shambling along just like him. A bright red shawl, strangely unfitting in such a setting, adorned her shoulders.

"Y'elloo?" He called, quickening his pace. She didn't appear to hear him, and continued her rocking stride through more shadows, following the lines beneath their feet. "Dear maiden?" Steve called again, leaping after her. Yet, for all of his manly youth and genius, he was never able to catch more than her disappearing red cape as it lilted purposefully around corners. And just when he thought that she could evade him no longer, his path branched into a circular plaza with too many offshoots to navigate.

With a heaving sigh, Dr. Toros collapsed onto a dried up fountain. Beneath his feet, he saw more of the mosaic, but didn't care enough to look at it from a proper angle. In front of him stood a largish metal statue that had worn down over the centuries, its features hardly recognizable. However, judging from the proud stance, it must have meant something to these people. It probably was supposed to mean something to him. This plaza might even have been the epicenter of the city before buildings had encroached upon it.

"The older you get, the more people forget you exist, eh?" He looked up at the statue, and the statue looked resolutely into the great beyond. "Well? Who are you then?" He stood in interest and moved closer, inspecting the base. "One of those great warriors now mired in lore?" No hints.

He heaved a sigh and sat on the man's pedestal. "Give me a hint to who you are or a trail of breadcrumbs out of here, and I promise, on Zoid Eve itself, that I'll come back with polish and elbow grease."

As the sun sunk behind the steepled peaks of the old buildings, standing like large triangles that had once been compared to mountains, Dr. Toros sideled closer to the warmed metal sentry he had befriended.

Resting his head against a kneecap, he let himself slip into a deeper state of relaxation; momentarily accepting his fate. A rest would be good for him, the peace perhaps unscrambling the map in his brain. Dimly, he felt the shadows creep slowly up his body and that of the statue, rising higher to the crown of its head. Darkness growing blacker and bleaker while his dreamworld grew brighter. His strange limbo finally found him in a grey half-world wearing nothing but his lab coat.

"Sorry, what?" He exclaimed to his consciousness at large, and his clothes popped back into existence. He adjusted the waistline of his pants with a relieved huff.

The grey-scape held nothing of much interest, but any movie with a subconscious sequence didn't hold on to the immaterial world for long, any cliche would tell you that, and ah, there it was. The light.

Steve moved towards it, quickly realizing it was no light at the end of the tunnel, but instead a small orb, suspended at waist level, and acting like the most useless silent lightbulb of all time.

"Now what?" His query sounded muffled, like a layer of velvet had folded over him, like a blanket. So comforting in its quiet, that it almost willed him to close his eyes once again, but this time to rest eternally with this wonderful ball of light for company.

"No!" He shouted suddenly, bringing his hands to his temples and shaking his head with a _brrr_. "This is why men don't ask for directions," he grumbled, and swung a kick at the orb.

He passed straight through it, but he had still felt a tug of resistance in his shin. He shoved with his hand, and watched in morbid fascination as he felt the orb move along the inside of his arm, flying out of his shoulder as he fell forward. He flipped onto his back and stared up, watching the thing shiver in agitation.

"Have a nice nap?"

He brought a hand up to his throat and repeated his words again, slowly. He could feel the vibrations but could not hear the words themselves. The velvet blanket had thickened_—_a wave of dust suddenly shifting and clogging his ear canals. Then something in his brain ripped, and there was an explosion of sound and light and feeling. The darkened city with its revolving illuminated _Fly High_ dazzled him, the smooth texture of the metal statue with its decaying warmth_—_he knew with every inch of skin that touched it. Most overwhelming, though, was the growl. The low rumble that seemed to be coming from between his ears and echoing and rattling and...and was steadily being replaced with the real life sounds of the winds picking up. The city howled.

. . .

Zero.

Kelly let out a yelp as a Crasher Horn attack obstructed her path and her sister plowed into her rear. The two Lightning Saix's leapt apart, just dodging another blow and slicing into a leg from the Redhorn with a swift Strike Laser Claw.

Jack leapt high to avoid another assault from the machine guns equipped on a few of the stegosaurus Zoids. When he landed, he tried to fire from the Vulcan, but was hit too quickly. Speed was a great asset in any battle, but even the wind couldn't dodge the rain.

They attempted a triangular attack, however, the worst of the pulsed laser shots compelled them to melt into their drafting technique. Jack clamped his jaws around a particularly gruesome horn on the short Zoid's shield-like head and brought it crashing to the ground with a twist and a booster activation. The heavy armor that plated the rest of the Redhorn wasn't layered thickly on its underbelly, and a few well placed shots from Kelly and Chris left the tank at his feet.

"Alright, girls," Jack dug the Saix's claws into the soft dirt beneath him. "One down, a pack to go."

The criminals backed up, forming a ramming line by interlacing the horns on their head, their nose horns glowing with a charged attack. A warning for if the Lightening team decided to get too close. The few that had mounted laser guns aimed and fired, forcing them to leap away from each other.

"Back in a line, we're jumping over!" Chris shouted, even as Kelly shrieked a battle cry and charged forward. Jack caught up with them just on time, able to quickly dodge an anti-air missile they had aimed at him. And now...a slight increase to the boosters, fingers flying over the buttons on his dashboard, a well-timed leap, pivot the landing! His Zoid stumbled, the _crunch_ of the Charge-Up Tail of the Redhorn hitting him solidly in his side and making him cringe.

"Attack quick, before they have a chance to turn around." He growled, assailing the feet and ankles of as many of the dinosaur type Zoids he could. Slowing them down would only increase the trio's advantage. Chris could be seen leaping from back to back, disarming which gun systems she could.

Then Kelly shrieked over the radio and he was forced to still as a manic laugh overtook their frequency line. Chris slid into position next to him, and they shared a battle-hardened glance through the tints of their cockpits before focusing on the heavily armored leg pushing down on the shoulder of Kelly's Zoid.

"I've got an idea, girlies," the man grinned, "exit your Zoids and avoid watching my Crasher Horn decapitate your friend."

The blue-clad twin hissed in anger, a sound Jack had surely never heard before, and even if he was slightly interested to see where a sound like that led to, he whispered, "Wait."

The heavy Redhorn pressed its leg down harder onto the feeble Lightning Saix and the two teammates watched sparks fly up with their hearts in their throats. It's charged nose horn dipped down to tap delicately on her cockpit.

"I'm going to get so much money for your pretty little head, sweetheart." The criminal's pupils were much too enlarged when he glanced up through the vidscreen at him, "Bub, your mercenaries are no angels. They let themselves get bought by the wrong team. And I'm here to get my money back_—_in blood."

A snarl ripped from Chris' line, and her boosters charged to life before Jack had a chance to think further through the situation. A blink, and her Saix had slammed headfirst into the right leg of the leader's Redhorn. An ominous crack jumped across the glass of her cockpit and the glowing Crasher Horn swung towards her.

Kelly laughed breathlessly. "Silly man. You forget that the longer you talk, the more opportunities I have to destroy you." She swung her Vulcan into the crevice where the Redhorn's left leg met its body and fired. Her attack, timed so close to Chris', sent the Redhorn reeling onto its hind legs. "When you're fighting a Lightning Saix, time is never on your side."

She smirked, and Jack slammed his Saix into the Redhorn's chest_—_toppling it to the ground.

.

"So, what's the holdup, Jamie? Why the flaming Zoid?" Brad radioed up from his Shadowfox as he leapt across dunes towards the source of the blaze.

"Looks like a battle," replied the young boy as he circled high above. "Three against way too many Redhorns."

"Sounds fun," grimaced the mercenary as he crested the final hill and allowed the Shadowfox to let out an ear-splitting howl. A few of the Zoids below him looked up just as he smirked and released a huge cloud of smoke onto the battlefield.

"Nice one, money whore. What help can I be now?" The tell-tale shift of Jamie's voice into a deeper octave alerted Brad that the Wild Eagle had joined the fight.

He smiled hungrily. "You'll think of something." Then the Shadowfox leapt into the fray, weaving through the ranks of Redhorn's until he was helping surround a particularly twitchy Redhorn that the three other Lightning Saix's were circling. He hailed the familiar pilot code.

Jack Cisco answered, looking grim, but appraising the other warrior thoughtfully. Brad had to roll his left shoulder to give the other mercenary a glance at his particular call-sign before he opened up. "He's after the twins. They've got a hard armor system to crack with just our Vulcans, but we've got it handled."

"Sure looks like it." Brad replied sarcastically, but held off mentioning the injuries their Zoids were sporting. "And this freak is?"

"Some maniac."

But then a new shadow rose from the sands, gripping greedily at the sparking Redhorn's claws_—_forcing the criminal into a fit of giggles. The dark shadow arched, crawling through the air and plunging into the Redhorn's core, and _no way_ did that just happen; Zoid ghosts? Not possible. The enemy certainly did not turn a shade darker, and the core's energy surely did not flash green, and, assuredly, the animalistic twitches and predatorial hunch of the shoulders were an elaborate trick borne of a frenzied criminal.

The giggles had taken on a double edge, a duality and echo that confused your ears. The Redhorn continued its shift, growing darker, its gun becoming a mass of darkness before bulging into a large Hybrid Vulcan cannon. A Darkhorn. And its eyes glowed a wild green.

"Come at me, fools," It growled with a smirk. "The gods _love me._"

"Sir Raspalot! Over here!" Jamie's Raynos keened and swept behind Brad, attracting the attention of the Darkhorn and causing it to fire in the Shadowfox's direction. Brad was forced to scramble sideways hurriedly, and the rounds tore the Redhorn followers into piecemeal. Red armor scattered.

He glared at the green Raynos as it swept away. "Warn me next time!"

Jamie's deep voice chuckled caustically. "Pay attention, shrimp, and I won't have to."

The Darkhorn continued its rampage, blasting through anything in its path, friend and foe alike. The Saix's easily escaped the torrent of bullets, but the maimed stegosaurus' were not as lucky. The chosen few Jack had slowed early met dire fates, and he swallowed his guilt. The rest fled soon after, as fast at their over-burdened behinds could take them.

"Jack, any plan on how to kill this beast?" Kelly chimed in through their link, and Chris even looked at him with a hopeful gleam in her eyes. Damn. What was he supposed to say? 'No, but let us toast a life well lived?' Fuck this. "We've got to roll it over again. Get at its undersides." The desperation was expertly kept from creeping into his voice.

"Hey." Hunter. "Can I tag along in your drafting technique? I've got an idea."

Well, it damn well was probably better then his. "If you can keep up." Jack took off, the twins following him, and the Shadowfox falling into step behind them. He left the boosters on seventy percent to give the guy a chance.

"Aim for the underside of his neck; veer when I tell you."

"That magic word better be please."

Brad rolled his eyes, but as the line neared the Darkhorn, with its eyes glowing green green green and the double-edged laugh still knifing through his radio's frequencies..."PLEASE!" He shouted, like an order, and the Saix's turned a ninety degree turn right, firing their Vulcans along the tough black hide of the stegosaurus, and Brad shot forward uncontrollably in a sudden speed boost, sliding beneath the Darkhorn's chin.

As he skidded by, he released the electric net in his tail and it wrapped securely around the dark dinosaur's head, sending out a wave of current that would surely incapacitate the crazed pilot. Three seconds of charge...

One.

The electricity made the neon green brighter, and the light seeped from the cracks in the armor, giving the Darkhorn an eerie glow.

Two.

The Raynos banked deep, its belly skimming the ground while launching a missile towards the heart of the beast. It exploded in a blossom of flame.

Three.

A drum beat. One hit, of one giant drum_—_the bass so deep he felt the vibration move through the tail of his Shadowfox to its snout, his bones shaking. A white pulse of light shot out in front of him, a ripple, but with a sound so intense he had to shield his eyes, as if that made any sense. He felt, more than saw, the Darkhorn stumble and turn, fleeing with a panic its hammering green heartbeat belied.

. . .

Dawn broke fitfully over the tall buildings of the monumental city. The multicolored tendrils of light remained hidden behind a sullen cloud layer, making the world seem sleepy and cold. Half of the Blitz and Lightning teams limped over a crest, arriving at the scene with a sluggish base in tow. Jamie circled overhead for a few rotations before settling into the snail-like base. He might have caused a commotion, because when he exited a few moments later Bit followed him, clad in boxers and a T-shirt and rubbing the lethargy from his eyes.

"I hear I missed an epic battle last night?"

"Naturally. Leena give you a good distraction?"

"No!" Bit interjected, instantly awake. He pursed his lips and Brad smiled innocently. "But I do have this strange memory of a very dejected expression gracing Naomi's face."

"I don't see how that comment applies to this situation. Does your brain need a little more sleep for regeneration?"

Jamie dragged a palm down his face. "It's too early for this."

Kelly arrived then, having changed out of her green battle gear into her more casual green top. She mentioned a few technical sounding things to her teammates and turned to see Brad shaking his head at a grinning Bit. The former mercenary turned to his fellow counterpart, shrugging his shoulders and looking nonchalant. "By the way, we'll probably be heading out of here sometime tomorrow. Doc seemed pretty excited to get to the next city for whatever reason."

"Yeah, we were thinking of heading west too." Jack responded gruffly, agreeing to the hidden invitation, and slightly annoyed at himself for taking it.

"Excited to eat our dust?" Bit called loudly while Jamie whispered something like _Why don't you go get some pants?_

The Shadowfox bayed softly and it's pilot turned to give it a pat on the leg. "We're going to get some shut-eye. Shadow and I volunteer Bit for first watch."

. . .

_Next time on Zoids:_

"Your leader and revolutionary speaking, as in, me, Fuma, of course. I've been steadily gaining recruits who fight with different strengths and weaknesses. But to fully round off my army I need a true leader of a Zoid. An Ultimate X would do nicely. But stealing and forcing it to fight with me is too rash—too much like the hotheaded actions of a male. No, I need to figure out how it _works_ first. And now that I have these morons in my grasp, I won't let them escape until I have exactly what I want…they so easily fall for my deceits. Next time on Zoids: The Fire Pheonix_—_a token for the weak. I rise from the ashes of my former hosts. Ready? Fight!"

* * *

><p><strong>I <strong>feel like Brad must tease Leena and Bit and Jamie all the time. Also, I dabbled in a little Zoid lore, which was interesting. I was trying to see what might have happened to organoids and how that Zoid Eve era is almost permanently faded, but let's not get too into that haha. The characters don't really understand what happened, so the reader won't either. You are free to form your own opinions.

This chapter is so hugely different from its first draft. Like whoa. I like it much more though.

How about the mercenary hints eh? That all mercenaries have a 'call-sign' i.e. their tattoos. Heh. More made-up lore -_- Watching people play too much Skyrim -_-

Ah, the Fire Pheonix episode is next. Or as I like to call it…Steve Toros Gets Some. Haha…no I'm kidding. Or am I?

**Reviews**: Randomcat, I'm really glad you liked the Fuma team backstory. I think what's going on in Fuma's head is more substantial then whatever was going on with the Backdraft. It's going to be fun to explore her character next chapter. I'm also glad you noticed the limited 'romantic urges'; I'm doing my best to stretch out the romances. I hope Flyheight City surprised you, but still felt awesome in its own way.

Oh yeah, I always like to mention my favorite part...hmm..oh yeah. I almost said Kirkland's "Grandmother Willow" segment of randomness, but that got trumped. My favorite part is definitely Dr. Toros showing up in his dream segment with only his lab coat and then being like 'Sorry, what?' lollll makes me laugh.


	12. Episode 12

Episode Twelve

_The Fire Phoenix—A Token for the Weak_

"_And there we saw the men and boys, as thick as hasty pudding."_

"Dad! _That's_ what you're wearing?" Leena Toros' face grew more aghast by the second as she took in Dr. Toros' fancy outfit. He was equipped with a purple jacket with fantastic ruffles near the collar, as well as some thick blue jeans and a belt "from, like, the 3500s or what?"

"Why don't you borrow my jacket, stud?" Brad walked into the common room carrying a simple black coat slung over his shoulder.

"Infinitely better," commented Bit from his cross-legged position on the couches.

"Agreed," continued Jamie as he popped a kernel of popcorn into his mouth and flipped through a few more channels.

"Oh, dad, your fashion sense is terrible."

"_Your_ fashion sense is terrible." Bit snickered, trying to irritate the resident firecracker. She allowed him a second of glare time.

"You were better off wearing your lab coat," nodded Jamie, oblivious to Bit's commentary.

"No way, that thing is filthy!" The only girl flipped her red hair over her shoulder, propping her fists on her hips.

"I completely agree!" The blonde warrior (_with a death wish_? Brad wondered…) teased again, tossing his hair in a mock replay.

She turned to him again, her annoyance almost evident. "Oh, _where_ have you been my entire life?"

"Avoiding you, most likely."

She huffed, but didn't let herself get too distracted by _that idiot_ and instead continued her rant against her father, as she dragged him out of the room to change into more "date friendly attire."

"I can't believe you got away with that." Jamie said, raising his eyebrows at a still grinning Bit Cloud.

"Of course I did. Obviously you don't know her patterns."

Brad raised his eyebrows as well as he slid into a seat near his teammates. "I will now refrain from commenting."

The phone rang loudly and Jamie clicked it into being using the remote.

"Hello, TEAM BLITZ!" Crowed Steve Toros over the loudspeaker.

"Why are you calling us from the other room!" Cried their youngest member, who was slightly disappointed to be missing the documentary on early plane designs.

"Because he's got a hot date to hurry and get to."

"Bring back a pic?"

"That's gross!" The young boy declared again, covering his eyes for no apparent reason. "She's probably old enough to be our moms."

"Your mom maybe," Bit and Brad laughed as they high-fived over the traumatized child's head.

"Chill Jamie, these two bozos don't know what makes up a _real_ woman."

"I wish I could see this kid the morning after he discovered what a real woman was like."

"Even so, I don't see how Leena pertains to something like that." The two broke out in raucous laughter again, sharing another complementary slapping of the skin. Jamie blushed deeply, and attempted to then cover his entire face and ears with his hands.

"Just wait till I get back over there, you perverts!"

"Of course we're kidding! You could teach him all about the female anatomy!"

"As in, 'this is a womanly belly button.' And then, 'Augghgh my eyes!'"

The resident redhead steadily built up volcano power as her father pushed her out of the way, but before he could say anything Bit interjected, "Oi, Doc, could you pick up the Liger on your way back?"

"Why, of course. Unfortunately I'll be forced to pilot it back to the base."

The Ultimate X pilot deadpanned, "You better ask him first."

"Anyway, I just wanted to remind all of you to lock the windows, don't answer the door to strangers, and that bedtime is at ten o' clock, okay?"

"Oh don't mind him," his daughter disclosed after a beat of uncomfortable silence. She straightened his tie and pushed him on his way. "Have fun dad, don't forget to pay for her meal!" She stood in the screen, waving, then adapted a ponderous face. "Now, I know I was planning on doing something, but I've completely forgotten."

Brad raised a finger and wormed his way into her thoughts, "Wasn't it, 'abuse Bit'?"

"Don't you mean, 'build this awesome Ultrasaurus puzzle'?" The aforementioned punishment-deserving young man interjected hastily.

The impassioned female might have realized this was said to distract her had their youngest teammate not turned around excitedly and shouted something strange like, 'Yippie!'

After that, a few hours passed with little to no import. They finished the border and a few other random segments. Unfortunately, an impasse was reached betwixt the children of the team. Meaning, of course, Bit and Leena. Jamie was happily putting the clouds together.

"The sky should definitely get done first."

"No way. That is just a bunch of blue pieces. There is no way to tell where any of them go." Leena held up a smudgy yellow one. "We need to do the Ultrasaurus first, at least you can differentiate between them!"

"Uh, hello. There's no way to tell whether that's a neck or a tail piece. It could go anywhere! It could be an eye socket!"

"Or it could be an ass. Oh, wait, that's you."

Bit rolled onto his side so he could level a good stare in her direction. She stuck her tongue out from where she lay on her belly, working on the bottom right hand corner.

"So…my idea's better. Let's do the sky."

"Were you in the middle of ear surgery for the past thirty minutes? I will not waste my perfect eyesight staring at monochromatic puzzle pieces! Ultrasaurus first. My idea. Better."

"_I_ have an idea. Everyone do their separate corners while playing the quiet game. What, never heard of it? It means, after I snap my fingers, the first person to make a sound has to clean the hangar." Bit opened his mouth to argue, but let it hang after the mercenary made a loud _Snap! _He could have risked it…but better to just avoid having the rest of the Blitz force him to do housework.

Brad was working on the ground pieces, and he was starting to notice that even though most of his segments were brown, they were of different shades. They were finding their places easily now that he had more clues to go by. It was very zen-like. He noticed Bit had picked up on the idea as well. As Brad reached an impasse where an Ultrasaurus foot should go, Bit and Jamie connected a cloud and a new section of sky with a silent cheer. Then Bit leaned over the entire puzzle to pick up a pad of paper from the coffee table. He soon shoved it in Leena's face.

**Fufufufu**

_Excuse me? Need I get the soap?_

**Not fu as in "Fuck" "You" but fu as in…"foo."**

_Ok? Well… ok as in "O" "K" not ok as in "ock." And question mark as in "what the hell."_

**It's…like laughing derisively. You mean you've never heard of it?**

_You might as well have said it in Ancient Zoidian for all the laughing it made me do._

The eldest member grabbed the notepad from them and took a moment to write something down. He handed it back to them furtively.

(insert pixelated crude drawing of a male…organ.)

"BRAD!" The two shouted, upsetting the puzzle pieces near them.

. . .

Steve Toros laughed loudly as he and his date shared a last glass of champagne. She clung tightly to his right arm and giggled happily. She was no great beauty as his wife had been, but her black curls left him at least a little flustered. He wiped a bit of drool from his mouth. What? No! He hadn't been drooling.

And she had seemed fairly impressed with his Doctorate of Zoid stuff. "That's a nice way to look at it," she said, finally siphoning off her giggles. "What a surprising thing for a manager of the Blitz team to say!"

"There are a lot of things about me that are apparently quite surprising," Doc shrugged, raising her head closer and further from his own since her chin now rested on his shoulder. "Everyone seems to forget that I designed all of the Liger's armor pieces!"

"You designed those?" She flicked her bangs out of her eyes as best she could.

"See, everyone forgets!"

She smiled affectionately. "Take heart in the fact that you've added something original to this world_—_the most I've done is arrange flowers!"

"Hey, don't put yourself down. I'm sure the members of my team don't know the first thing about such a delicate art."

"Oh, you're making me giggle!"

Dr. Toros extricated himself from her grip and put his hands on her shoulders. "I have a surprise for you, alright? Wait here. Don't move!"

She nodded happily as he hurried off. "Don't take too long, I can't wait to get out of these heels!"

. . .

Bit Cloud walked back into the living room of the base, zipping up his green and red jacket. "I'm assuming Doc is having a hard core make-out session with this girl right now_—_so I'm going into town to pick up Liger. Who's coming with me?"

"You need a babysitter?"

"I need someone to drive the truck back."

Brad reclined into the couch and studied the dark-haired youth still humming happily and connecting puzzle pieces. "I'm feeling lazy. Ask Leena."

"She's in her room painting her toenails or whatever she does. Pleaaasseeee Brad?"

"Well, when you insist on embarrassing yourself like that..." He heaved himself from the curved chairs and ran a tired hand through his tousled hair. "Have you seen my vest anywhere?" He asked as they both passed through the automatic doors and skirted past their sole female in the hallway.

"Hmm. Oh! I think I saw it slung over Naomi's bedpost."

"Hah," the mercenary groused in response, giving the blonde a healthy shove.

_Pop!_ The doors slid open again as Leena entered and fell with a dramatic sigh onto the spot Brad had just been. She reached out and ruffled the young aviator's hair. "Wanna go to Leon and Naomi's?"

He stuck out his bottom lip. "Can't we just stay in the base for once?"

"And do what? Talk?"

The boy fit another piece in and shrugged.

She rolled onto her back and pulled her skirt down as it had rode up in the process. "What's your favorite color? Oh, let me guess. Blue?"

"I never spent time thinking about that."

She stuck her tongue out in disgust. "Boys. You can never make decisions." The lights above them held her gaze and she twined her fingers through his short black hair. It was absentminded, yet sensual, and it left him blushing. He made sure to keep his back turned.

"Have you...ever dated anyone?"

Her eyes popped as she grinned, "That sure is a question! You couldn't deduce it after having lived with us half your life?"

"You're very secretive."

"True." She noticed his ears were red, then mistook it for a completely different emotion. The redhead gave him a half-hug, wrapping her arms around his neck and leaning far enough over to give him a teasing glance. "Is little Jamie in love? Does he need help wooing Mary?"

He squawked, "I already said she's way older than me!"

She waved her hand dismissively. "What's a few years here or there? After a decade of happiness and companionship who could tell the difference?"

"But..."

"Let me introduce you to the list of ways to impress and flatter your future queen." She settled back into her reclining position on the couch and raised a finger into the air_—_making declarations to the ceiling once again. "Firstly, flowers_—_"

"Oh how did I get myself into this one?"

. . .

The night was cool and windy, despite it being the dead of summer, and Dr. Toros was happy to settle into the quiet cockpit of the Liger Zero. "Yeah, baby, let's see what you can do." It growled back in extreme annoyance and intentionally froze in place.

"A hah, hah." He laughed nervously, raising his hands into the air in surrender. "Just kidding of course. But if you do me a huge favor I'll be sure to get you a nice…"

He heard the whistle before he saw anything. The Liger seemed to know they were coming, but was forced to rely mostly on Toros' slower reaction time to dodge them. They fell with a crash on their right side as the Homing missiles shot over their heads. The Liger growled again_—_enraged and trying to hurtle back onto its feet.

"I've got this, I've got this." He repeated as he maneuvered them back into standing position. Two Sinkers rushed past the Ultimate X's legs, moving in and out of the light from the street lamps, and causing them to resort to stomping around like an Elephander.

Inside the two stingrays, the Undrafted members continued communications as they weaved and disoriented the bigger Zoid. "This is too easy." Jubon said, cackling.

"Yeah, we don't even need the Large Booster Guns the ma'am gave us!" Kishon laughed as well, feeling like a winner for once. "I thought this was supposed to be an Ultimate X?"

An old man popped onto their vid-screens. "Hooligans!" He cried, shaking his fist before they cut him off. They shared puzzled glances.

"Well that explains a lot."

At this point, the Liger Zero was doing its best trying to show his engineer how to activate the Strike Laser Claw attack, however, the man appeared less apt in the field of battling, and mostly was making shooing motions.

"Got it!" He shouted suddenly, moving the controls to slightly raise the leg of the white Zoid, however, he attacked thin air. The strike laser claw lit up and discharged into the pavement, leaving a misplaced, albeit cool, scar. "Well, what do you expect? The most you ever let me do was wash you a few times."

Then a large net flew from the top of a building and the Sinkers near his feet scattered. His hands weren't on the accelerator in time, and they were trapped, shot down like a duck. The electricity pounded through the Liger's system, sending shocks out of the data board and dehumidifying the air in front of him.

The Ultimate X gave one last weak growl of reproach before it succumbed to the onslaught. As the electricity died from the air, the night darkened. The alleyway froze, transfixed and soundless almost immediately. The skirmish had alerted no one, and it was with the sluggish creep gained by a power with no fear of censure that a claw reached down from the sky and pulled the Ultimate X into the belly of the beast.

. . .

The young aviator woke to the sound of shooting.

He moved quickly, pulling his yellow and white battle shirt over his plain white one. It was a little bulky feeling but it would work. He threw his pants on as he was running, and just pulled up the zipper as he swung wide the hangar door, a frantic pant on his lips.

Bit was slouched over at a table he'd erected with a sour look on his face. Following the trail of his gaze, Jamie found his other two team members jumping around and shooting targets. It was a common training they did—attaching targets to their Zoid's bodies and seeing who could break the most. He groaned at himself for jumping to conclusions and pulled an empty barrel over to sit next to the Ultimate X pilot.

"Yo."

Bit didn't answer, if anything his frown deepened, and he glowered resolutely at the Shadowfox and Gunsniper.

"Any word from Doc?"

"NO." He snapped and stood up angrily just as Leena's tail smashed their table to smithereens. The dark haired youth shrieked and checked his toes for broken bones. "And the Liger's missing too. If he drove his date around in the cockpit, _I will destroy him._"

"Especially since you haven't pulled that move yet."

The green of Bit's irises flashed darker as he leveled a finger at Jamie, "You're too young to be talking about _moves_!"

"Talk about unbalanced." Leena said sticking her lip out judgmentally. She shouted in surprise as the Shadowfox landed a hit on her left knee. Her Zoid teetered for a moment.

"Don't mind if I do. Appreciate the irony?"

"Hey, there wasn't a target there!"

The battle recommenced and the blonde stomped off, entering the base impatiently as the doors whirred closed behind him.

. . .

Fuma usually wore her hair down, even in battle; it was a form of vanity. Yet tonight she had tightened a zip-tie at the base of her skull, thus piling her hair into a ponytail. A few brown curls framed her face but otherwise she was pure business. When she scowled, the prisoner surely got the full effect.

"Again, Ehga." The sound of flesh hitting flesh is nothing like in the movies. It's much quieter and leaves you feeling disappointed unless you order a few extra punches.

He stopped when the old man groaned. She almost wanted to call him a gentleman, because to sit and look at her with this sort of calm when your lip was bleeding and your left eye indubitably swollen shut required class of the extreme caliber.

"The Ligers were created by the Guylos Empire, yes, way back then. Making the X at least as old as the hushed Organoid Wars." She moved closer, scrutinizing his face. "You're telling me you **didn't** know this?"

"I might have heard rumors." Steve Toros licked the blood from his lip and swallowed it with a grimace.

"Then tell me about the black box. No point in hiding, the scans are underway as we speak. Save yourself the pain."

"Why ask me at all then?"

"I prefer to cover my ass."

"You want me to cover your ass? Sounds provocative. Sorry, I'm taken."

"Negola would appreciate this one," Egha grumbled as he licked his palm and flattened his short mohawk.

The blood vessels in the female leader's eyes must have expanded, because she truly saw red. Should she overreact? No, not yet. She spat in his face instead.

"I hate you." She straightened and pulled her zip tie a notch tighter, stretching her scalp almost painfully. It helped her rearrange her thoughts. "I've heard people call it an Ultimate X. The Liger Zero units were manufactured by both the Republic and the Empire, but the Empire were the ones who created the Liger Zero X's. Why call it an ultimate when X's are already CAS capable and equipped with a high-tech AI system? What makes it so different?"

"How would I know, I'm not its engineer."

"That's precisely what you are, you idiot." She tried her breathing exercises but choked on them. "Ehga, hit him again, please."

. . .

If you've never seen someone sweep angrily, then you've probably lived a very sane life. Being a trigger happy red-head aptly lead away from most sensibility, and so it was with no great surprise that Leena walked into the hangar expecting to do maintenance and was met with her favorite thief sweeping sawdust—angrily.

She giggled happily to herself. Here, finally, was a reason to put up with him. He made a good housewife. "Finally, you're cleaning this old table up."

"_You_ were the one who broke it." He replied, glowering at the hard bristles that weren't doing much good.

"Well you shouldn't have had it in the middle of the battlefield."

"It was—"

"Don't argue; I've got statistics on my side. At least I didn't _trip_ over your _truck._"

He stopped speaking and just kicked a pile of the dust out into the desert. Leena stood by, not really having a reason to leave, perhaps even wanting to pick the fight. A warm wind blew in, ruffling her green skirt and pushing her hair behind her shoulders. Bit kept his back turned tensely towards her and propped his chin on the neck of the broom. His shirt shifted slowly as his muscles clenched tighter, strangely growing angrier by her mere presence.

"Why are you _still_ here?" He ground out, tossing the broom into a corner.

She scowled thinking things like _Two can play this game_ and allowing the unsettled feeling that had lurked in the back of her mind all day to manifest itself in her anger. "Bit, relax. Stop being so sour because your precious Zoid isn't here to keep you company."

"Excuse me? Why shouldn't I be? Doc has run off with the Liger somewhere without my permission. I deserve to at least be _asked._ I'm not a _child._"

Fists clenched, knees locked. It was hard to move her jaw without grinding her teeth. "Pardon me, _King Bit_, but has it occurred to you _Doc_, i.e. _my father_, hasn't contacted us in over 24 hours? He could be _hurt_ or in trouble and all you do is sit around and mope about some machine."

His scowl didn't vacillate, but his eyes widened just enough to prove that he hadn't thought of it while he did his best to appear like he had. "Liger isn't just _some machine_, he's _my friend_. You'd expect me to be worried if you just up and disappeared right?"

"Because I'm A PERSON."

"He's got a personality too, he holds grudges or finds things funny!"

"Look, I get it, he's great. But it's just a hunk of _really smart metal._"

"No! There is something else! I know there's a piece of him that's…organic..." His voice faded, and his eyes started to swim. Leena started to say his name in confusion just as he collapsed, falling forward until her toes caught in his hair.

It wasn't until she bent down to turn him over that she noticed the dart in his neck. Then it was chaos.

She might have shrieked as she looked up to see a net already unfolding above their bodies. She scrambled and ducked, clawing her way out of the fibers. She rushed away, stumbling on hands and knees as a ferocious metal claw appeared out of the dark and moved to pick up Bit. It hesitated. Then it came for her.

It grasped her knees hastily and irritated, dragging her along the ground as her limbs searched for purchase amidst the cracks. Pain stabbed into her body as a dozen wooden splinters pierced her skin—somewhere, either her arm or her back. Then the claw swung her, quick, out through the hangar door and upside down.

The blood steadily pumped to her head, and she tried to keep her modesty by holding her skirt and shirt in place. She did her best, really, but soon her brain started to ache and her voice lost its edge, and she slowly, slowly, lost her vision to the night.

. . .

"Why me?" Beseeched the good doctor as he tried in vain to wriggle from his bonds. Dried blood glued his hair to his forehead, and it was really starting to itch.

He hadn't seen Lady Fuma for hours, and he could only hope that it was because of difficulties instead of breakthroughs.

However, the idea she seemed so preoccupied with seemed fairly obvious to him. Of course the Liger's black box contained an organoid. What other Zoid had ever _chosen_ its own pilot? It was the most obvious conclusion he'd ever had to come to in his life. What other reason to call it an _Ultimate_ X?

And how would you spend hours figuring that out from scans? Something didn't add up. He got the feeling there was something else she was after that she hadn't let on. There was a wool she was pushing over his eyes.

He heard the heavy latch unclick from outside. _Yes! Maybe now he could get a clue— _"Laon!"

"Stop screeching like a banshee or you'll get me caught."

The door shut behind him and the room grew dark again. They stared at each other.

"I like you in this prone position." He snapped out a knife. "Prepare to die, old friend."

Steve Toros let out a girly squeak as his widow-peaked rival leapt at him, but felt no pain. The knife sunk into his bonds and his hands came free.

"Oops, missed. I suppose luck was with you today."

The father of two wriggled on the ground, stretching happily. "Thanks, Laon! Now let's go save the Liger and tell Fuma to lick our—"

"There's no way we're getting Bit's Ultimate X out of here; she's got half of the base analyzing the poor beast."

He sat up, cleaning his face with spit, akin to a cat, and stared imploringly at Laon. "What are they really looking for?"

"You think I would tell a sneak like you?"

Toros vaulted over, latching onto the ankles of his friend. "Tell me tell me tell me!"

"Get offa me, you sorry excuse for a man!" He reached down and grabbed the brunette by the hair and yanked him upwards. "If I tell you, Leena spends Father's Day with me."

"What!"

Laon dropped the engineer and crossed his arms petulantly.

"Fine! For the fate of the world, why not. So what's Fuma up too?"

"She's interested in how the black box is _connected_ to the Liger Zero, not really the black box itself. I think we can all agree what's going on up in there." He made a 'crazy' motion by circling his finger about his ear.

Toros nodded understandingly, then shrugged. "Weird."

.

Steve and Laon peeked around a doorway into the Undrafted hangar. Pieces of Laon's Great Whale King hung on the left wall and many a Zoid littered the space between them.

"Alright, a couple of heavily armored Iron Kongs should do the trick." They'd pulled the stunt where their heads stacked up on one side of the door, so Steve had to look up at Laon. "Hey, why are you on top?"

The evil doctor raised his eyebrows so high that he wrinkled his widow's peak. "With a brain like yours, how did she ever choose you?"

"I'm a doctor."

"So am I! And we're in the Hammerhead, thus, we're FLYING—no Iron Kongs will be doing any tricking! Also, because I'm better than you." He did a flip and scuttled into the room, soon closely followed by Toros. He pointed to a red bird that sat nearby. "Take the Fire Pheonix."

"I've never heard of that Zoid."

"It's a piece of junk I picked up; it can't stand up to the Stormsworders like I expected. I doubt they'll notice it missing."

"You can come with me you know."

"I need to play the matyr. I bet after this Leena would gladly choose my courageous self as her surrogate father."

Steve deadpanned while he crawled into the cockpit of the bird. Laon moved to the control panel, tapping a soldier on the shoulder and thumbing him out of the room. He hit a few switches and the doors cracked open a tad.

Steve Toros gave his old friend a salute as he moved towards the opening. Laon responded in turn, with a slightly less gentlemanly one-fingered salute.

.

"Lady, there's an unauthorized activation of hangar bay 2."

She raised a delicate eyebrow as she leaned away from the screens she had been looking at. "What's leaving?"

"Some flying Zoid."

"I see; it's probably the prisoner." She waved her hand dismissively. "Fire a few warning shots but otherwise let him go. Now that I have his armor system I'll soon have all the information he could have ever given me."

.

He ducked and rolled, expanding the wings at the last second and gliding further downwards.

All on accident.

"Oh, man, Jamie! You've got to help me land this thing!"

"Doc? Is that you?"

Smoke rose from a few places where he had been hit with bullets and the cockpit was cracked a little. Steve Toros pouted at the young pilot through the comm-link. "I promise I didn't trade the Liger for this heap of junk."

A sad look came across the kid's grey eyes, but he just nodded. Commands lit up the screen and the bird landed under autopilot outside the Hover Cargo. Steve walked it like a chicken through the garage doors.

His eyes adjusted to the dark and he gasped audibly. "What happened in here?"

. . .

_Next time on Zoids:_

"Oscar speaking, over. Jamie called me in, understandably, knowing that he'd need another pilot for an attack on this flying base. Sounds like I'll have to go a little faster than I'm used to. Lucky for me, my bestest friend Laon is willing to help us out, and hey, what's this he brought with him? Next time on Zoids, Part two—Hemeros' vs the Hammerhead. The famous trio reunites! Wait, you mean we aren't the star characters anymore? Ready? Fight!"

* * *

><p><strong>No <strong>true battle scene.. hyuk hyuk.

Soooo did you like it? Did you? Did you? Dude, this thing got way big and had to be split in half! How exciting is that? Wasn't Fuma a badass? What's her plan EH?

Anyway, done acting like a fool. My favorite part is Laon rescuing Toros and being like, "Prepare to die" and then saying "oops I missed." hehheh. Are you excited about Doc having a date?**?**!**!** I am obviously. Okay, maybe I wasn't done acting like a fool. But that's probably because I'm having a ton of fun with this Backdraft saga. Fuma is so much fun to write.

I hope you're wondering why I would give the Blitz team a Fire Pheonix.

**Reviews: **YES, Gojiralee! I'm so glad you noticed that it was the token ghost episode! T_T ("Speaking of ghost episodes, who else preferred Chaotic Century's episode with that dead kid who helped Van to NC0's chainsaw killer episode?"-Gojiralee) Let's see how people respond! Personally, I think the chainsaw episode opened a can of worms. And that can of worms was Brad's supposed coffee addiction. Brad drinks coffee in 75% of NC0 fics because of this episode. Randomcat, I'm glad you liked the countdown; I was getting nervous thinking that it was lame. And I'm glad the Kirkland amused you! Poor Tigers Team, they'll always be the comic relief.

Anyway, hope you enjoy! Oh, one question. What's the best way to keep you notified of how soon I'll be updating (how the next chapter is coming along etc)? In the summary of the story, or at the top of my profile page? If it makes no difference to you then I guess..uh.. nevermind? ^.^U

Oh, and this "images" that go along with stories. I'm no artist, so obviously my picture isn't as cool. I'm too worried that I'll get in trouble for using a Google Images picture.


	13. Episode 13

Episode Thirteen

_Part Two—Hemeros' vs. the Hammerhead_

"_Organized under strict rules and regulations,"_

"C'mon, Oscar, you can do it!" the handheld radio crackled as Dr. Toros shouted at his best friend. Above him, Wild Eagle Jr. flew circles around the newly acquired Fire Phoenix in an attempt to coax his father back into daring piloting.

"What an egg-beater." Naomi frowned, watching the red Zoid meander across the open sky.

"Of all the Zoids to steal from the Undrafted, this?" Brad shook his head and crossed his arms sorrowfully.

"The Phoenix can break the sound barrier too. It's slower than the Raynos, but you can still shoot down Jamie, Wild Eagle!"

"_I'm _the Wild Eagle!" Shouted down Jamie's alter ego as he barrel-rolled underneath his father. His tail unit swiveled. "What's the least embarrassing place for me to shoot, pops?"

"Argh, Steve! This Zoid is top-heavy! There's no way I can break the sound barrier without losing control…"

"Hey, instability is just another word for maneuverability." The young aviator grinned, his grey eyes twinkling, banking to the right and flipping the green bird gracefully.

"Is that…yes it is!" Oscar pointed furiously at his skeletal wings. "Did you tape up the bullet holes with duct tape? Toros!"

The good doctor just laughed and shrugged. "Hey, my little girl is missing, so as long as it flies!"

Naomi turned to the remaining Blitz member, a calm and stable man, made all the more so in light of the crazy surrounding him. "Could you perhaps explain the thinking here?"

He wrapped a tattooed arm around her shoulder knowingly. "Long time ago, when Jamie was just a young tot, Oscar lost control of his Raynos and crashed jarringly into the unforgiving desert. He hasn't piloted beyond his Pteras for years."

She extricated herself from him and he grew a rejected pout. "I meant, why is Leon's father not worried about that little Gunsniper pilot wannabe?" Her words were harsh but her eyes belied a small concern.

He laughed loudly.

"That's it, buddy. Shoot! Shoot!"

"Because he knows Leena has a mean left hook."

. . .

"Finally, you're awake."

"What are you doing in my dream?" Bit said groggily, immediately reaching up to rub the small scab on his neck.

"You aren't accustomed to dreams about you and me in a locked room? Surprising."

He sat up, holding his head in his hands and groaning. "Let me rephrase. What are you doing in my nightmare?"

"Suffering."

He glowered at her un-amusedly. "Is this how you're going to be? Completely unhelpful?"

"I'm still deciding."

"Then I'm not going to talk to you."

He stood up and walked to the door. There was a small window and he could make out the noses of two guards posted outside of it. He knocked.

They turned and squished their faces together to peer at him. "Bit Cloud's awake! Hey, can I have your autograph?"

"You can't ask a prisoner that, Jubon!" Shouted the second guard, slapping the shaggy haired fan in the head.

He made a painful noise of protest then pointed an accusatory finger at his cousin's face. "Small horror, Kishon; at least I'm not perving on the redhead!"

The two continued to bicker and Bit turned to Leena. "We're with the Backdraft?"

"They wanted your armors. I just got dragged into this."

"Why didn't you just say that earlier?" He asked, exasperated.

"Because you woke up mad."

"We never made a pact against going to bed mad."

Her light eyes narrowed and she pursed her lips. "Don't make marriage-jokes in a time like this."

"You started it."

She stood up fluidly, clenching her fists and facing off against _him_. "You know what? NO. You started it…moping around for a whole day only thinking about yourself! If you had been with the team we might have seen them coming and avoided this whole situation!"

The green of Bit's eyes remained dull despite the attack and he glanced around tiredly. "Can we not argue? You're exhausting."

"I want to talk about this right now!" She raised her right arm to point or threaten him, but a wince flickered across her face and she brought it down. She attempted to play it off, and placed a hand on her hip and gave him a _Well, your turn_ glare.

He rolled his eyes. "I saw that Leena. Where are you hurt?"

Her shoulder flinched, tipping him off, but she remained defiant. "I am perfectly fine."

He closed the distance between them in a few strides, using only a single hand on her bicep to swivel her around.

"Get your paws off of me!"

She struggled but he held her in place, giving her a deliberate poke in the middle of her wound. "That's about a dozen splinters."

She stomped on his foot, increasing her struggling and ground out obscenities through her teeth.

"Cut the rabid dog act and let me actually help you for a second." He used his left hand to grasp one of the wooden shards and gave a sharp yank. The girl in his arms immediately went from fiery independent woman to small child. She stiffened and made a soft plaintive sound.

"Ow, Bit that hurt."

"Sorry," he murmured.

He bent closer, worming more out of her bare shoulder. Tears had sprung to her eyes, and she bit her bottom lip to keep from whimpering. Physical pain had never been an outright issue for her, but this stab at her pride hit her hard. She didn't like the damsel routine: caught up in secretly wanting him to help her and silently begging him to go slower so it would hurt less.

There was another painful tug and a mewl escaped her in the form of his name. The whispered apologies against her skin gave her goosebumps, and it was some time around then when it stopped hurting.

When she started to notice something else.

As she had stopped twisting, his hand that had held her in place had slipped from its duty, tracing down her arm until his fingers rested on the pulsepoint of her wrist. His other lay on her shoulder, his fingers brushing against her softly in his search. Her neck tickled with the lightness of his breath, only giving rise to her imaginings and reminding her of how close his body leaned. She felt the heat of him on her back, and the warmth turned her on in ways that it shouldn't have. The two inches between them were almost electric with her desire to close them.

Then he turned her, pressing her firmly against a wall out of sight from the window. Her "huh?" came out as a throaty rasp.

"Leena crisis, averted. Now for the _real_ problem..." He teased, unaware of her darkened irises and the arch of her neck subconsciously offered to him. "I've got an idea. Play along."

She nodded dumbly. When he moved away towards the door she gave her quickly beating heart a mental slap, muttering "hormones" and attempting to believe herself.

Bit leaned up into the small viewing window and signed his name with spit. "You two still want that kiss and autograph?" He grinned and the drafted Sinker pilots looked at him incredulously. "In all seriousness though, Leena's willing to trade a kiss for some medical supplies. She's pretty banged up. I'll sign the leftovers if you like."

"Step back from the door while we discuss this." The Liger pilot met with a palm as he backed away from the door. There seemed to be a small commotion and he and Leena shared a shrug before the door cracked open. He put his hands in the air.

Kishon held what looked like a taser, and he crept carefully over to Leena with a small white medical box. Jubon tucked away his weapon and held out the wax paper remains of a large Band-Aid alongside a black sharpie to Bit with a wide smile on his face. "It would be awesome if you could draw a little Liger Zero."

As the blonde signed, Jubon pulled out his own taser, the careful way he held it proving that the weapons had been shoved on them without rehearsal.

Bit handed over the square patch and smiled innocently as the Sinker pilot read it. "'To the Beetle Drones. May all your battles end with a well deserved **bang**. _Bit Cloud_'" He looked up. "Beetle drones?"

Leena and Bit pulled a fist back simultaneously and combo nose-cracked the pair. The gang members blinked stupidly for a moment before falling with a dull thud on their backs.

"Easy." The two team-members shared a grin.

. . .

Dr. Toros stood with his fists on his hips and popped his neck twice. Craning his neck skyward for so long did hell to his old muscles. The Fire Phoenix took off quickly, speeding across the sky, "Too fast, too fast!" could be heard muffled through the static of the hand held radio before Oscar hit the brakes and wobbled in the sky.

The doctor sighed mournfully, his fingertips almost touching his toes, then turned to look behind him. "Hemeros Sr. has improved don't you think? Brad?" The deserted desert-y winds blew forlornly across the Hover Cargo, marking with a soft whine that Brad and Naomi had long gone. "They're picking us off…ONE BY ONE."

"Incoming, Doc!" Jamie cried through the radio just as a large crate landed with a thud and billowed up dust into the dispirited air. As Steve ran closer, the makeshift parachute settled and he was able to make out the labeling he'd stenciled in months ago. **Jager.**

He pried it open using the antennae of the radio, and the large blue pieces spilled out onto the ground, quickly collecting dirt into every possible crack. "Yippie!" He cried to his friend before realizing he'd broken the walkie-talkie in the process.

He didn't get the warning this time, but he saw as other crates fell in succession in an obvious line down the cracked desert ground. Then, far off in the distance, he made out a blimp like object spinning pell-mell as gravity dragged it behind a small hill.

Toros raised an eyebrow and then shuffled quickly back to the Hover Cargo. "Here we go!"

. . .

The Liger Zero roared and thrashed like a caged beast as workers wheeled it into a secure hangar. For good measure, they swung metal chains over his body and fastened them to bars near his feet. The Liger's yellow teeth gleamed as it snapped at the criminals, missing severely because of the low range of motion.

"There should be a muzzle for this thing." A few more chains tightened and a figure darted out from the shadows to attach a solid steel cable to his cart with a clamp. He carried the cable from the room surreptitiously and the group followed, unbeknownst, assuredly off to work on some other nefarious plot.

If someone had taken the time, they would have noticed the emotions playing through the beast. Its growls turned sadly depressing, rumbling mewls that played at the heartstrings. He didn't like it here. He missed his pilot.

Some amount of time later a new human joined him. It was a girl-human and she had her front paws crossed. The Ultimate X recognized her; he remembered her Warshark and her ruthlessness. Her brunette hair was held tightly back from her face and she offered him a gloating grin.

"Thank you for all the information you've given me; you've been very helpful." Her pink tongue slithered out and along her painted lip. "It won't be long now."

She quirked her head and stepped closer, placing a condoling hand on one of his favorite claws. "You're a masterful beast, and I want to give you the option to decide your fate." She patted him affectionately. "Would you prefer to be ripped apart until your little organoid heart lies open for all the vultures under my wing to devour, or used as target practice?"

The Liger let loose a horrendous roar, of which halfway through Lady Fuma began laughing loudly. She reached up and ripped apart the zip-tie, allowing her wild hair to fall in knots around her shoulders. The locks remained a haphazard frenzy even as her barks reduced to small chuckles, furtively belying her true nature. "Trust me, the latter is infinitely more painful. Screw your pride and choose a swift death."

_Pop._

The Lady of the Undrafted swung her head around, confused as to the origin of the soft sound. Then, the floor shifted slightly underneath her boots and the Liger swung a full 180 degrees with a disoriented yelp. The steel cable dragged his dolly steadily across the floor and with a resounding **bang** into the opposing wall.

Her lightweight base divider quickly realized how competitive an Ultimate X could be, and toppled over with a crunch_—_flattened by the bulk and ferocity of the white Liger.

"STOP!" Fuma had collapsed on all fours in order to avoid the swinging Zoid, and now stretched her arm out as if the illusion of grasping the Zoid would keep it from sliding away. A part of her knew it was escaping, and she had not predicted it; it had not been calculated. The whirl in her mind made a jumble of her words, melting them into spittle on her red lips. "I DON'T WANT THEM TO HAVE IT!"

Her screams faded rapidly as the dolly picked up speed. The Liger Zero's pace quickened and the destruction doubled by the second as he ripped through passageways and through rooms. Some chased him, throwing smaller cables that would only snap moments later. His momentum was too great. He flew onwards.

The Liger caught a bronze pipe in his teeth, bending it to breaking point with an amused grunt. Water splashed from it and a few of his pursuers slipped onto the slick deck. Then the cable pulled his platform through a tight curve and into a hangar amidst other Zoidian enemies. He offered a sorrowful growl for his captured kin, but they announced no collection of his emotion as he zipped past.

The yawning maw of the sky shone blue before him and a happy growl of relished freedom escaped the Ultimate X as he toppled into it.

. . .

As the two team members skulked down the hallway in a random direction they took a moment to grin at each other in triumph.

"Once again, the Blitz Team defeats the Backdraft and their nefarious plot!" Bit crooned while pumping a fist in the air.

"Be quiet would you? You have no concept of stealth..." The redhead shook her head sadly and then glanced behind her, looking for an invisible opponent. "The last time I was captured I escaped all by myself by tricking the guard, knocking him out, and using his uniform to blend in until I reached the hanger. I was long gone before they could have noticed."

"Lucky it was a man you tricked," the blonde smirked, ignoring her point, "I doubt a woman's clothes would have fit." He held his sides as he laughed_—_then yelped as Leena wrapped an arm around his neck to choke him.

"Care to rethink that last sentence?" But before she could pressure him into answering, she loosened her grip and winced while placing a hand tenderly on her shoulder. "You are so lucky that I'm injured. And may I remind you that when you were last in this situation you ran around in circles while piloting the Liger? Ran around in circles. That's pathetic."

"Thanks. I always appreciate a good scathing insult," he replied wryly. His attention was suddenly diverted with a quick glance. "Look, a door to a hangar!"

"Not quite, it's an emergency exit."

"Same thing."

She stuck her hands on her hips and glared as he ran towards the door. He was not supposed to devise both escape plans. That did not fit with the she-being-the-savior story. "Be careful, the Undrafted are probably on the other side."

He either didn't hear her or didn't care, because he swung the door open after a second of shoving. Then fell into a baby blue sky.

"Idiot?" The word had started coming out of her mouth as another 'scathing' insult...but when he suddenly disappeared like that... "Bit?"

She jogged tentatively to the hatch, barely daring to look down_—_but when she did she could see him hanging with fingertips from the metal skeleton of the ship, just a few feet below the door.

Waves of relief washed over her as she mumbled incoherent _What did you think you were doing_'s, and _I told you so_'s. She noticed belatedly as she got on her stomach to grab him that goosebumps had risen along her arms because of a thought she hadn't dared to think.

She screamed down to him over the wind while she grabbed onto his wrists. "I'll hold you, climb up!"

"I can't climb up! There's nothing to climb up on!"

"Well you better make something to climb up on because I can't pull you up!"

"I can't believe I'm going to die because you don't lift enough weights!"

"You're going to die because you eat too much!"

She strained to pull upward, raised a few inches, then with a cry of fear slipped as her feet lost their footing; she just barely managed to stop herself while hanging precariously from the waist down. As the adrenaline and fear buffeted their way back into a manageable state, she felt almost nervous when, for an instant, the absurd notion that he could see right down her shirt (or up it?) flashed through her mind. It was a ridiculous time to think it, but in times of stress sometimes her brain started to backpedal. "We're both going to die because you eat too much."

"If we were going to die, those would be your last words to me?" He lifted his head to grin up at her. Just a moment before he had been looking straight underneath the ship and she had been blushing needlessly at the top of his head.

"No, it would be more like, 'Bit Cloud, I knew you would be the death of me, and guess what? You are!'" She narrowed her eyes at him, but he definitely wasn't looking at her face. "Helic, Bit, stop staring! Do you want me to drop you?"

"No!" But then a different look morphed onto his features. Classic Bit Cloud. He smirked eagerly at her. "Do you trust me?"

"Absolutely not."

"In this moment of death you don't trust me?"

"Okay, I guess I could trust you for this single moment."

"I want you to jump on three. Don't freak out; just trust me. And if it doesn't work_—_well, we would've died anyway."

"What do you mean, 'die anyway'? I don't want to 'die anyway'."

"One..."

"Bit, I don't want to die like this!"

"Two..."

"I know it's better than dying alone or being hacked to pieces by the Chainsaw Man, but I can't do this! What about my dad? And Leon? I don't even remember the last thing I said to them; what if they always think I hate them? I haven't told them I love them in ages! I haven't even fallen in love! At the very least I wanted a whirlwind romance before I died!"

"Three!"

She jumped. "Dammit, Bit Cloud, at least don't let go!" She clung to him; shut her eyes. Death's Stygian waters rushed up her legs, slammed her stomach into her heart, and sent both rocketing into her brain. The wind ripped her skin off and she gripped whatever part of Bit she was holding with skeletal fingers, hands, arms. With her last bit of consciousness she fell to her doom.

. . .

"When the Wild Eagle gets a taste of blood, he stops at nothing!" Jamie blew past the cloud layer and the floating Hammerhead, getting a view on what he was about to take down. He banked, turning on a dime, and came back down, shooting out a barrage of gunfire to counteract their own, an orange cloud of flame erupting between them.

One of the Raynos' great feats was its agility at speeds past the sound barrier, however, when facing the bulky Hammerhead it had to slow down just to stay within shooting range. He wasn't going to allow them to turn this into some friendly game of bird hunting however, and when he had no choice but to slow down, he hit the airbrake with a gleeful shout, sending the ship flying zippily beneath him with a large target spot for a well placed missile.

He grinned. "I'd like to see you shoot me down without your computerized radar." Jamie barrel-rolled, dived to gain speed, and shot at whatever was in his range.

The original Wild Eagle was not faring as well. The Fire Phoenix tossed, slipped in and out of the sound barrier and altogether frightened Oscar out of his wits. He was almost certain the bird had a CG much higher than safety standards permitted, and he would have flipped the Zoid upside down to prove it was more stable that way if it didn't involve him flipping the Zoid upside down.

Shock and beam cannons fired at him, and he wobbled and dodged, unfortunately flying too slowly to be able to get a reasonable shot off. He activated his afterburners and slipped underneath the belly of the Hammerhead, slowing to match the sub-Mach speed it flew at. He shot and circled, formulating a battle strategy, while, less usefully, he thought of how proud he was of his son!

"Oscar, have you located the engine bay yet?" The Wild Eagle asked over their comm-link while he continued to pepper the enemy craft with fire.

"Too much armor."

The youth nodded his head understandingly, performing a swift sideslip to avoid a few missiles. A well-placed shot from his tail unit rendered the Maneuverable Missile Pod incapacitated. "Let's go for the fins, daddio." Jamie flipped his Raynos over in a half roll, then nose-dived into a half loop. "Tail first!" The combat dodge yanked him into high speed, and he blew past the Fire Phoenix with a salute.

However, the Undrafted had grown tired of smoking and shuddering because of two small insects, and a stream of flying Zoids fell from the shark's mouth like vomit. They paid no heed to the bright red Fire Phoenix and blew after Jamie in his Raynos.

"Woo-hoo!" Cried the thrilled Wild Eagle, accelerating out into the baby blue. "I'm off to play with my friends, don't wait up!" The green bird pitched into cloud cover and the swarm followed after, dotting the mass of water vapor like a giant with a machine gun.

Immediately out of their view, Jamie pulled up, forming a loop and falling behind the first wave of fliers. He slowed with the airbrake and shot down three planes easily before banking left and gathering the rest of the flood behind him. "Catch me if you can."

Oscar fired his second round at the left fin of the Hammerhead, damaging its steering while sacrificing good-sized chunks out of his tail unit; he yelped back into safety with a sizable trail of smoke. "This would be considerably less demanding a job if I could get these 180mm cannons working."

He had enough ammo for another assault, but he wondered how much more of a beating the Phoenix could take. Looking out the side windows he could glimpse the peeling duct tape and guessed it wasn't much more. "Is loss of rudder control worth leaving Jamie alone in the battle? I need a sign Zi." He made a U-turn at the edge of the large Zoid, avoiding the fire waiting to rain down on him, and espied a dangling figure. The Phoenix approached, rising steadily in altitude until Oscar was looking at the young man in the face. "By the Empire, it's Bit."

.

And they were falling…he passed that second where the speed seemed reasonable and into the second where empty dread took hold.

He could see the bird…if he just stretched a little father…

.

Oscar had one of those great moments where absolutely nothing crosses your mind. His eyes were wide like saucers and if tunneling vision was any clue, it was probable that his heart skipped a few beats. Luckily, the couple landed on his left wing without needing his help, and unluckily their momentum and added weight sent the craft careening into a steepening corkscrew dive. And then his oxygen-deprived brain accessed a part of him that had lain dormant since Jamie was a young child. The little scraps of Eagle left in him deftly altered the Phoenix's path until it swooped downward in a peaceful spiral like an omniscient bird of prey.

The Wild in him rearranged the seat belt to hook onto the belt loop of his overalls and then he half leapt out of the cockpit to drag Bit and Leena to partial safety. Oscar smiled a cocky grin and then launched a farewell missile into the small door Bit had left open.

"So how was your day?"

Bit laughed the frenzied look from his eyes. "I think I killed Leena." He poked the slumped over girl next to him. "Oh, no, I feel a pulse. Darn."

. . .

The moment they touched solid Zi Leena leapt into her father's arms like a chimpanzee. The doctor laughed happily and swung her around. "Tomorrow we're going shopping!"

"Thanks for saving us Mr. Hemeros." Bit supplied with a sheepish grin. Oscar gave him a proud slap on the back in response, causing him to tumble from the aircraft. He sat and radioed his own son. "Jamie, party's over."

The Wild Eagle's deep-throated chuckle blasted back through the speakers. "Not until the confetti gets thrown it's not."

And he meant to keep his word. High above the plains of Zi Jamie was swirling in the elegant combat of air. The enemies that had spewed from the Undrafted's pet shark followed him like guppies, too naïve to realize they were just snacks.

He swooped up in a half loop, then flattened out to stall the Raynos.

"C'mon, baby."

Facing downwards as his engine sputtered, he lingered until the meat of the fliers amassed below him. And then he drove the throttle forward, accelerating into the pack like a hawk swooping onto its meal. He shot and snapped and hit the sound barrier just as he plunged through the middle of them. Moments later they bloomed into explosions and the Wild Eagle gave them one last salute before diving to meet his friends at base.

The ensuing wind buffeted the pilots with their parachutes as they descended dejected towards the ground—like so much confetti.

.

When Bit reunited with the Liger he was very sentimental, and didn't care if anyone saw the few tears trickle down his cheek. "Buddy, I'll never let anyone near you ever again. We're a team. Best friends forever."

The Liger growled happily and playfully leapt over him, shaking off the last of the chains that had bound him. He had fallen into a descending half torn apart Whale King, which cocooned his fall and kept him from snapping into tiny Liger pieces. Brad had been kind enough to take a blowtorch to the imprisoning locks.

Having scooped Bit up, the Liger galloped into the Hover Cargo, even nudging Dr. Toros happily when they arrived. "Doc, I never got to ask. How'd your date go?"

The father slouched over sadly. "We got kidnapped before I could take her home. I left her standing on the sidewalk. She probably hates me now."

Bit clicked his tongue and shook his head consolingly. "I hate to say it Doc, but that's probably karma for taking Liger out for a joyride."

As the Liger continued its prance down the hangar it passed the junk heap that was the Fire Phoenix, and immediately jettisoned all of its armor.

"What are you doing?" Bit cried, leaping from the cockpit and standing with his hands in his hair surrounded by the pile of white. "I _just_ finished cleaning all the dirt out of the Jager armor!"

The Ultimate X cocked its head as if confused as to what had so incensed his pilot. Steve Toros laughed heartily. "Karma eh? Then what did you do to deserve that?"

. . .

_Next time on Zoids_:

_"This is Mary Champ of Champions Incorporated. You may call me Ms. Mary if you desire. I'm here to tell you that Fuma…is up to something…and I believe there's a turtle involved? Enough about them anyway. More importantly, me and Harry have our own nefarious plot in the works. You see, there's this robot…and…he starts rapping…and…well, basically I prove myself invaluable to the Champ team. Next time on Zoids, victorious—through the fire and flames. Arigato Mr. Roboto. Ready? Fight!"_

* * *

><p><strong>Huge<strong> apologies for being a jerk and not updating for such a long time. I hate me too.

Anyway, in this chapter, shit goes down! Air-battle style! :sigh: I love jets. And now hopefully you do too, and that I kept control over my desire to use too many aeronautical terms. Even though I know Zoids use a completely different method for flight, sometimes I just can't help myself.

What else...I feel a huge speech coming on, so feel free to skip!

BEGIN CHARACTER/CHAPTER ANALYSIS

Fuma loses her cool! She's starting to slip...In the show, she was always very calm and collected, she wasn't too 'calculating' but she is obviously smart_—_she doesn't spend much time being surprised by things. After the finale however, she has a lot of her firm beliefs and mainstays knocked away (the Genosaurs easy defeat, the Backdraft's destruction) and then I add in her team severely injured...she lost control over her entire life in an instant, and in response she's forced an extreme amount of control over herself, then her team, and then the Undrafted. So, when the Liger 'escapes' her world starts fracturing again_—and _after holding on to the splinters so ferociously, this will be a big blow to her. We'll see how that pans out.

Jubon and Kishon make a reappearance_—_though this time they are much less murderous and are more comic. Though I still think that's in keeping with who they are. In my head-canon, they are two young cousins who get pulled into the Desert Gang partially for the safety it provides, but also for the glory it would give them. They go from two boys who are used to being kicked to the wayside, to boys who are feared to a certain extent. They feel important and cool (and thus not jaded) so they are still easily impressed with other things young boys are usually impressed with. Like 'girls' and 'heroes'. But that doesn't make them innocent. Think _Lord of the Flies_ except they're not _that_ young. Maybe mentally that young.

Bit uses the title 'Undrafted' and 'Backdraft' interchangeably because he just Does Not Care about the self-righteous names people call themselves. He acts pretty carefree this chapter, considering how sullen he was in the last one, but that's because Bit has never been the broody/moody type, and he realizes he needs to keep appearances up for Leena who suddenly goes little-girly on him. Even though its all sort of convoluted, he would have sort of realized to stop being a jerkface and 'man up.' He does still care about where the Liger Zero is, and so when he sees a door he thinks is the hangar, he's a little beside himself with excitement, and so doesn't really think through the process, and just busts the door open. After the whole freefall debacle, he would have wanted to go back and search, but he's now become aware that, as much as he cares about his Zoid, he needs to care more about his relationships with people. Because they care about him, and they will keep putting themselves in danger because of his rash decisions. Secret character development!

Leena on the other hand...I have used shamelessly for fluff. But besides all that...I like how she's very righteously angered in the beginning, and very independent and hiding her injury etc. I think that's like her.

Oscar is sort of lame in this chapter...complaining about the Fire Phoenix _for good secretive author reasons! _But I wanted his fear to be legitimate, because Jamie was very fearful of flying after Oscar almost died. And Oscar should be too, and not just for his own life, but for his son's as well. He's extra cautious not just for fear of falling, but because of his fear that Jamie will fall as well, and he wants to be in complete control of the Phoenix if that did happen. But the Wild Eagle in him comes back and he remembers how to be a jaunty aviator again. Yay.

Jamie is also the Wild Eagle for the entire chapter, so he is very caustic and not son-like. He even calls his dad 'Oscar' at one point. That's because the alter-ego doesn't see 'Dad' in that familial wonderfulness, but sees 'Old man that I can tease mercilessly without retribution and also happens to understand the joys of flight.' The Wild Eagle is badass, and he better have seemed like it in this chapter. But this has given me ideas...hmm.

Laon wasn't in the chapter, but he played a crucial role. He saved the Liger and returned the armor systems. I think the Liger could have survived the fall, like how an egg can survive the fall from a building if cushioned appropriately. The partially rebuilt Great Whale King would have done some mysterious physics bending and the Liger would have been alright. Maybe it glided down nicely. Non-fatal terminal velocity and all that. Laon did not fly the Whale King...just sort of activated what he could and then let it fall out of the hangar, dragging the Liger Zero with it. Laon has reasons for staying with the Undrafted, but you don't know why yet.

END LONG-WINDED SPEECH

Whew! YMMV of course. But I think this was a good time for some character analysis, because I got a lot going on in my head here, and I wanted to be sure I understood and you understood what's going on here. Because with the way I write this thing, none of these background things are very explicit. They aren't even implicit for the most part. :shrugs:

**Reviews: **I love these. I love them! Gojiralee, I hope you thought the aerial battle was good. I know it's different than how a NC0 battle usually plays out_—_with a distinct opposing Zoid and enemy_—_however I still enjoy thinking of Jamie zipping around in the sky. Yes, the Liger Zero was captured, and the information Fuma found out 'today' will have repercussions later. But, that's just one thread in an entire plot line. Brad's reason for his coffee addiction! That made me giggle. Maybe I can include that as a joke somewhere in the future. Oracle in Vayne: new reviewer! I'm giddy with the knowledge that you think this is a canonical worthy story. Now...emotional strain on the characters. This is a very good point that you make here. They should be worried, they're lives are suddenly in more danger than ever, yet they act essentially normal. I can blame part of this on the fact that gaps of time are occurring between chapters, but you are right that there SHOULD be repercussions. The problem I'm now faced with is how to fit that in and stay true to their characters. (...I honestly just sat and stared into space for many minutes thinking about this...and I think I have an idea.) Okay...I like the idea the more I think of it, but I'll have to mess around with the concept. It'll be down the road from now, like EP 19? Thank you so much for the constructive criticism! It only makes me work harder. And thanks for the good word from both of you, it makes me unbelievably happy.

I've said too much stuff! I'm just _blah_ing out all over the computer screen. Anyway, next chapter we have the Champ siblings...and finally some character progression from these two side-characters that they well deserve. Also, Fuma. Fuma, my dear. I have a feeling she's going to start some stuff that's going to confuse the hell out of you. :D


	14. Episode 14

**[Warning: (For anyone who might be randomly reading this chapter without reading any of the others). There are two OCs this episode. The first we've seen before, but I'm bringing him back because I needed to use his brain as a plot device. He won't be in any more chapters, I promise. The second is purely for a POV shift and won't be seen again either. Yet, I give them names. Why?]**

Episode Fourteen

_Victorious—Every Fool Suffers Failure_

_"Zoid battles are competitions held on enormous battlefields,"_

He dreamt of his victory over Vega and the Berserk Fury. The feel of the sun and the wind through his hair were exact, even the sharp smell of metal was sharp in his nostrils.

It gave him the urge to sneeze.

Bit woke with a start, sitting up quickly and covering his face with a hand as he _ACHOO-ed_ loudly. When he pulled his limb away however, he noticed it was covered in a poofy white substance. In fact, it was all over his body. A swift lick of his lips proved it to be whipped cream.

A feminine giggle pulled his attention to the side where Leena, clad in her small green pajamas, held a feather and smiled mirthfully. She picked up a can of whipped cream and squirted some into her mouth, swallowing with a satisfied wink. "Happy Fool's Day, Bit."

"Ecstatic. I feel like a marshmallow threw up on me."

She laughed heartily, louder even when he reached up to wipe his hands on her cheeks. She caught his wrist between her teeth and licked off a good-sized dollop.

"Kinky."

She grinned. "It was supposed to be the classic whipped cream in the hand and the feather on your nose, but you sleep like a rock."

"Why haven't I learned to keep my door locked?" He griped, but the chuckle in his voice let her off the hook. "I hope you didn't use all the hot water too."

"You wound me." She exclaimed, placing a hand over her heart dramatically. "Hurry with your shower; I need your help getting Jamie before he wakes up."

"Ugh, even the kid isn't awake. Just how early is it?"

"You don't want to know."

Bit pouted, and swung himself out of bed. As he gathered various accouterments, he turned to raise an eyebrow at the girl whose ankles were now propped on his pillow and was squirting whipping cream into her mouth lackadaisically. "Don't you have a prank to begin preparing?"

Her pink lips popped open in an 'o'; proof that she was thinking of a quick-fire lie. Before she had the chance, he swept her chair up and deposited her outside, locking his door behind them. "I've been fooled quite enough for one day, thank you."

Giggling, she conceded defeat and followed him towards the lounge, watching the poofy treat slide down his arms and legs. As Bit left for the shared bathroom, Leena bustled into the kitchen, gathering Ziploc bags and the ice trays she had prepared the night before. Popping out each of the ice cubes left her fingers red with cold, but she knew it would be worth it in the end. By the time she had divided the cubes into the bags and sealed them, Bit had returned, and she deposited the load into his arms.

Leena scampered toward the sleeping quarters, pausing only to allow her friend to toss his things into his room. Upon reaching the mechanical door outside of the young aviator's bedroom, Leena held a finger to her lips and activated the manual override—sliding the door open a fraction with a small grunt.

Jamie had his blinds pulled down, but the lack of light seeping through proved that the sun had yet to rise. Stealthily, Leena arranged the cold bags underneath the boy's covers and pillow, and then slipped into his closet. After a moments thought, she reopened the closet door and peered at Bit, who was standing amidst the dimly lit room with his hands propped on his hips and giving her a _look_.

Rolling her eyes, the redhead tiptoed forward, tugging his ear down to her mouth. "Get under his bed…and rattle it."

"And you'll be?"

"Practicing my ghostly moans."

She backed a step away, but he swung her forward to press their bodies together. His hand on her back, still chilled from the ice, made her shiver. He whispered, "I think you're enjoying this a little too much." Then he moved away, and his pupils, dilated in the dark, smirked at her as he rolled underneath wooden framework.

—

"And the Wild Eagle has beat the record for the fastest speed ever reached, folks!"

Jamie smirked, raising the volume on the announcer coming through on the radio. He dove low, flying over the heads of his fans as a bow.

"Wild Eagle, Wild Eagle, how does it feel?"

The youth switched the transponder so he could reply, but he heard a loud crackling through his comm-link, unlike the usual silence. Then his jet started shaking, vibrating, jostling him around in his seat. "What's—"

"—going on!" He cried, sitting awake in his bed. His entire room shook wildly, and a strobe light disoriented him while eerie music raised goosebumps on his arms. He was the Wild Eagle, he reminded himself. _I'm brave. _

A ghostly echo surrounded him, and he could have sworn he felt the room get colder. Then he remembered that he was Jamie. So he shrieked, "G-g-ghost!" leapt from his covers, and ran like a bat out of hell.

Moments later Bit and Leena slipped from their respective hiding spots, laughing hysterically.

"Let's go explain before he hurts himself."

When the two finally caught up to him, the boy was hidden beneath a blanket next to his snoring father. Since their female firecracker was unable to cease snorting in hilarity, the fiasco that followed easily woke Oscar and eventually Dr. Toros as well.

Face still framed by the plush red blanket, Jamie frowned at his teammates. "I hate you both."

"Aw, Jamie, it's just Fool's Day." Bit reasoned plaintively.

Leena grinned, wrapping her arm around the younger boy. "No harm done, right? Besides, you're lucky to not be covered in sticky, white—"

Dr. Toros choked on his drink and Oscar pounded him on the back, laughing.

"—whipped cream! C'mon," she unfolded her legs to stand, and yanked up the youth, his grey eyes round and mistrustful. "Pranking Brad will make you feel better."

He cracked a smile, the blanket falling from his shoulders. "You're probably right."

"I'm always right." She grinned widely to herself—she always knew how to make her kid-brother feel better. Squaring her shoulders, she raised a finger in the air authoritatively. "Troops, locate a large trash can and a bucket."

—

It was dark in the forest, and his Command Wolf could barely keep up with the red Gunsniper dodging through the sun-dappled oaks. His Zoid was meant to be more agile than Naomi's, and he couldn't fathom where she'd gotten such a drastic upgrade.

There was a twist in the foliage and he lost her for the moment. Standing in the clearing, he panted, swinging his Zoid's blue head back and forth. Then, there, he saw her through the trees…paused to look at him over her shoulder. Smirking, she said, "Some hunter you make, Brad."

He hit the accelerator, but she disappeared, and in her place was the cliff he'd spilled over months ago while chasing the Shadowfox. Unable to stop himself, he fell again, tilting over the ledge and feeling the familiar lurch in his stomach that jolted him into wakefulness.

Brad Hunter rubbed blearily at his eyes and slipped from his bed, glancing at his alarm clock. Dawn, but there was no chance that he would be sleeping again any time soon. Yawning, he stood while throwing the last clean pair of pants and his vest on. _I should get some laundry done today_ he thought while grabbing his toothbrush from his nightstand.

Outside, two large trashcans filled to the brim with ice cold water leaned precariously against his room door. When the mercenary unconcernedly opened it, he gained a large pain in his toe and a drenching from the naval down.

Irony laughed. So did his three teammates.

. . .

Lady Fuma sat with a mug of tea in her personal room. She felt on edge, always on edge these days. When Koga buzzed in she didn't look up, instead happily hating the wood grains in her desk.

"We've narrowed the rumor down to an old man in Romeo City."

She dipped a finger in her mug, finding it cold. "Is he an idiot? Because I'm sick of idiots."

"He was the Vice President of Research with the Zoids Battle Commission when he was fired twenty years ago."

She nodded. "Sounds useful." She let her head loll back and a genuine smile crossed her face. _Good, good. Great. _"Let's go get him."

Koga hesitated, then wheeled closer to her. Resting a hand on her cheek he murmured, "You seem stressed, my Lady."

She flinched away, shocked. _What was his game? Had he sensed weakness in his leader? Was there a coup? Did they think her a fool for losing so much to an air battle? _He seemed unfazed by her rejection.

"You have overstayed your welcome, soldier."

. . .

"Leena has still escaped torture." Bit interjected, prodding his female friend in the shoulder.

"I am the Creatrix; ergo, I have a free get-out-of-jail card."

"What kind of rule is that?"

"We can prank Leena's little lover," Oscar guffawed. "I bet he's a riot." He sent a sly look to Steve, who caught on.

"You know what would be the perfect prank?" Dr. Toros continued, tapping his chin thoughtfully. "We should call him and tell him the wedding is off."

"What wedding?" Leena inquired.

Her wily father tilted his head while donning a perplexed expression. "Yours. Do you not remember when he proposed? I've had this marriage scheduled for weeks."

The young males of the team couldn't uphold their straight faces, and immediately fell into raucous laughter. "Good one, Doc!"

"As a side comment," Oscar grinned, "did you want pink or red roses?"

Dr. Toros chuckled humorously. "No need to hyperventilate, dear. Just giving you your desserts."

Brad leaned over and waved a hand across the female's face. "Wasted breath, Doc. She's fainted." Standing from his seat on the curved blue couches in the lounge where they'd all had an impromptu early breakfast, he flipped on the television. ZNN was in the midst of interviewing a scientist who claimed the sky would be turning green soon.

Brad deadpanned. "Now I remember why I don't wake up early."

"They're just pranking the viewers." Jamie explained, "Last year they reported on some nonsense about reanimating dinosaurs."

"Ironically," Bit chimed in, "that did happen, if you count the Berserk Fury."

"_Breaking news!_" The announcer suddenly shouted, shoving the blind scientist out of the screen. The man adjusted his purple suit and straightened his tie as a pop-up of a smoggy city appeared in the upper right hand corner of the screen. "_Romeo city…is on fire!"_

Brad switched off the set with a groan and pinched the bridge of his nose. "How am I going to make it through today without committing murder?"

Bit screwed up his face thoughtfully. "Actually, that reminds me that I was supposed to meet Harry at some point today…"

"Don't think too hard," Jamie said sarcastically, "I wouldn't want you to hurt yourself." Bit stuck his tongue out in response.

Standing, the blonde poked the female next to him one last time. "Helic, she is really out for the count. This is the perfect opportunity for a prank, but I'm no mastermind." He turned to Jamie, "Kid, I'm leaving it up to you."

The young aviator gave him a double thumbs-up. "Roger that, Bravo Charlie."

. . .

Lady Fuma landed in Romeo City at dawn. The sun was slow in illuminating the cement streets; as if it knew what a monstrous day awaited the recuperating town. In this lazy pre-morning she sent out squads of Strikers, let them disperse through the streets with a silent foreboding. Here they were again, ghosts in their old haunt.

A visit to hell and back. They all held fire and gasoline in their bellies and their wick was the spark of her tongue. That's all, folks.

She brought the dawn to her. The city, now lit, aflame.

. . .

Bit popped the hood of the pilot seat and jumped to the ground. Harry and Mary were both shading their eyes from the sun and peering up at him clad in their battle suits—something which Bit found slightly ominous considering that he had apparently forgotten they were having a battle today.

"Where's Leena?" Harry asked with a frown. (And that he had apparently left half of his team back at base.)

"She was feeling a little faint of heart."

"She's sick? I should make her chicken noodle soup!"

Bit sighed. "I doubt she's getting out of her puddle of drool anytime soon."

The Prince's mouth dropped even further open and he made a gurgling sound. His sister tossed her curly hair over her shoulder in a completely contrasting show of emotion.

"Boys, the mission isn't going to complete itself. There will be casualties."

Said boys raised their eyebrows in response. "Oh yeah…" Harry groused. "The 'quest.'"

Realization dawned on Bit's face as he remembered the whole point of him trekking all the way over to the Champ base in the early morning light. He asked Mary for the details again and she huffed in annoyance.

"It's unsavory but necessary. A spy op." Bit asked if they could have codenames and Mary said NO. "Our father's rival corporation is building a new robot, and we must assure that it isn't something that's going to put him out of business."

"I understand the severity. How else would you afford your bath salts?"

Both siblings shouted 'EXACTLY!' and Bit spent a very important moment wondering about their mental health. "Let's go...before Liger changes his mind." He raised a hand and the Liger Zero lowered its head so Bit could step onto its jaw.

"We can't go undercover with an Ultimate X."

"Aw, what!"

Bit made sad eyes at Harry, who raised an eyebrow at the supposed greatest pilot on Zi. Didn't look so ferocious with that pout on his face, did he now? "This message will explode in thirty seconds."

The blonde hugged a yellow fang forlornly. "I'll get the jeep."

. . .

"What's happening, Papa?" The old mechanic's freckled daughter ran to him, her nightdress soiled with sweat. It only took him a glimpse at his burning city to throw her from his shoulder and grab his trusted shotgun. "Get to the cellar, AND STAY THERE!" He felt like a _fool_ for never replacing the fire alarms in his house. Smoke was already creeping through cracked windows and blackening the ceiling.

He hobbled out of the room and into the kitchen, smashing open the cookie jar. Inside were the cardkeys to his secret hangar, and he snatched them up and moved to the garage, his feet finding boots along the way. A few locks, a swipe, an activated door, and he was moving out into the city in his thick armored Cannon Tortoise. Not exactly a Zoid of legend, but he knew this was the companion needed today.

He moved out onto the street and stepped on a fire hydrant. He channeled the water to the burning lawn of his neighbor's house with his toenails then moved on, letting the fetid waters gush upwards in dying rainbows.

He ambled slowly down the street, ignoring others' cries for mercy, the blaring sirens, and Gustav's filled to the brim with water and shuttling around firefighters. He had to wipe the sweat from his eyes, and his arms shook with fatigue. He was no longer the pilot he had been.

When he finally made it to his Zoids shop, he found fire licking its lips up the brick sides, searching hungrily for sustenance amongst the glass and metal. He found he'd rather see the beast starve.

There were two massive guns equipped to his Tortoise, and a large liquid-Hydrogen tank cooled each. The mechanic started accessing information banks stored on the machine's hard drive and shut power off to his automatic gun. Then he released the restraints on the thick shell and clambered out of the cockpit and into the reptilian's innards.

The freezing metal bit him, but he was able to lift a hydrogen canister out of pure adrenaline into the mouth of his plasma cannon. Then he hustled back just as the angry blaze crept onto the shop's tile and spat at him through the windows. Like eyes aflame and a lolling tongue.

Determined now, he set the beam gun on its lowest setting, aimed for what appeared as the heart of the inferno, and fired. Liquid hydrogen hissed in its freedom and froze everything in its path with just as much fury as its counterpart.

The worst of the fire thus burned out, and smoke hissed from the entrance as the building cooled. He was slowly beginning to turn the Tortoise when two graphitized Strikers rounded the corner and stilled on the sidewalk in front of him.

He met with the large yellow eyes painted on their hulls, and he felt his face fall into a familiar scowl.

. . .

The Champ siblings had arrived at the competitor's building and were currently in Phase 1 of their clandestine operations: Infiltrate. Harry made some confusing hand gestures then rounded a corner. Mary, probably doing the exact opposite of what he'd signaled, rounded another.

She spied two guards in this hallway, and she pulled a smoke canister from her belt and giggled quietly. Just as she was preparing to release it, her brother grabbed her by her ponytail and dragged her backwards.

"I said, _stay here._"

She rolled her eyes and propped her fists on her hips in her best sister-glare. He put a hand to his brow in mock exhaustion as he gave into her demands, then drug her around a third corner.

They slid through a door and came face to face with a bespectacled young man. Harry took this opportunity to faze out, and the man appeared unsure whether to place the Ace he had just found in his Solitaire game or raise an alarm. Mary put on her most charming smile—deciding to play to her strengths. "We're just passer-by, don't mind us." She sashayed over and kissed him delicately on the cheek. "Would you mind pointing my brother and I toward the visitor's center, cutie?" She rubbed at the lingering lipstick flirtatiously.

The young geek spluttered, stuttered, blushed furiously, and fixed his eyes on the brash beauty to his left. She slipped his glasses off with a demure smile and a tug of his earlobe, and the exact route to a visitor's center that most certainly didn't exist spilled from his mouth.

"Oh of course. I can't imagine how I got so turned around. Come along, dear." She winked at Harry (who was looking on in bewilderment) and they both exited the room they had incorrectly entered.

Harry pulled out the secret map he had with him, "Now would you please not go anywhere unless I say so?" he groused.

Mary shook her head 'no' sadly and replied, "If I listened to you, we'd be standing outside the laboratory without a way to actually get inside." Harry raised an eyebrow and Mary brandished a keycard she'd snitched from the scientist. "Brother of mine, you couldn't do this without me. Just admit it."

"I'll admit that without me _here_ to _check your psychosis_, I'd be bailing you out of jail."

Siblings narrowed their eyes at each other and a moment of silence passed in memory of their childhood alliances.

"About face. Forward march."

Mary huffed, gave in to her brother's straight-faced order, and stomped off.

Back at the jeep, Bit did his best to sketch a wanted poster of the two clandestine criminals—just to see the fear on their faces when they returned. Twas Fool's Day after all.

"Shh," Mary whispered as they entered the room they'd been searching for. Everyone was on lunch break, just as they'd nefariously planned. "Harry, you try and hack that console; I'll take pictures of the prototype." She stepped into the center of the room and looked up at the humanoid beast.

"Good afternoon, you notorious hunk of metal." The single red eye blinked repetitively at her, and she blinked a few times in response before pulling a slim camera out of the pocket of her battle suit. "Boy, you sure are big."

The bot whirred and stood. "Name reclassification: complete. Prototype Zero is now Notorious B.I.G."

"Wait, what?"

"I think this entire computer is the program. When I turned it on, I booted the robot up." Harry looked down at the screen and watched the code scroll in eight directions. Considering that his father used a 9D program for his AI's, Harry figured they wouldn't be losing business anytime soon. He minimized the screen and got a wonderfully warped look at his sister through the eye of the Cyclops. This made him chortle.

Mary turned back to the rival robot. "Rename yourself Project Zero. I don't want them knowing we were here."

"I am Notorious B.I.G."

"Yes, right. Okay, Notorious B.I.G.—"

"That's my name, don't wear it out."

"Helic!" She swiveled and waved her arms at Harry. "Restart it!"

"I can't, all this does is run the program." Back on the screen, Harry noticed as the android zeroed in on a certain part of his sister's heaving anatomy. "Bad robot!"

"Reboot!" She shouted, but the robot remained standing. "Shut down!"

"Shut down? I'll shut you down. Won't go down? I'll push you down. You still smiling? I'll make you frowning. You still swimming? I'll make you drowning."

"Congratulations, Mary, you have just invented the worst rapping robot in all of Zi."

"Stop...drop and roll. You think I'll take orders from a troll? Be a dear and get rid of that unflattering sneer."

"Don't sing." She growled. "Stop! Abort, abort!"

"You're a far cry from my usual consort. But, oh no! You've just told me to—" The robot groaned and shuddered, and Mary only needed to glance at the shocked expression gracing her brother's features before streaking towards his place behind the dais.

"It's...deleting itself."

"I would say…it's aborting itself."

"I'm a killer?"

"Was it ever truly alive?" The siblings blinked in sad sort of astonishment at the results of their actions before tacitly agreeing that this certainly wasn't the time to wade through a topic such as this.

Harry gestured her through the hacked doorway, and Mary replied in a small curtsey as per the usual custom. She looked back just in time to see B.I.G. Zero crumple into a lonely heap.

. . .

When they fired, their guns spewed flame. He ducked and let the heat bounce off of his mostly fire retardant shell, then moved a hand to his automatic rifle, firing before realizing he had already detached the cooling device. His whole cockpit exploded with warning sounds and he smelled smoke.

The old mechanic gritted his teeth, angry with himself. An elementary mistake had already cost him the battle. He shot with the beam cannon, once, twice. He got a lucky shot in on their gasoline tank and one stingray exploded.

"Just the kind of bang I'd like to go out with." He said bitterly, wiping at the sweat pouring into his eyes. His Cannon Tortoise was done, the cockpit was overheating and he wasn't going to be able to keep this up for long. He started a slow retreat, hoping to find a fire hydrant that he could manipulate to his purposes.

Unfortunately, the attackers seemed incredibly focused on him, and a swarm of locust drones clogged his viewing area, buzzing and spitting at him. When they left, his windshield was covered in a slimy goo, and no amount of shaking his Cannon Tortoise's head kept it from solidifying. Why didn't Zoids have windshield wipers?

He heard the exterior speakers of a Zoid click on, and a woman's voice called for him seductively and forcefully. "Be a dear and climb out of your cockpit. I wouldn't want you to catch fire."

The grey-haired man stood and unleashed the face of his Tortoise, stepping out into the smoky air with his shotgun. He leveled it without fear at the remaining Striker. "What do you want?"

The woman giggled a tinkling laugh, then leapt fluidly from her own Zoid. She walked towards him with even less fear, extending her hand when the muzzle of the gun hit her shoulder. It was too strange to keep threatening her, so he put his weapon down and shook her hand gruffly.

"Clint," she said fondly, as if they were old friends. "I think you're a genius. I'm astonished the ZBC didn't see what I see and forced your resignation." She took a few steps back, casting her eyes out onto the horrific splendor of the city. "They have a lack of vision. You and I, we don't lack that vision."

The compliments appealed to him. However, he failed to see the burning city as beauty even if he did not find it terrible. In a weird way the brunette reminded him of his dead wife, and he felt a little melancholy.

"Let's make a deal. Come aboard my ship and I'll explain my intentions. If you don't want a part of it, you can leave. How about it? I have a feeling you'll be intrigued."

. . .

Reginald Gene Corduroy's great grandfather had started a corduroy business. His grandmother had been a famous opera singer and his father had been elected partner at his firm when he was a dapper thirty years old. Plus, his sister had appeared to take after their father's litigation skills and was well on her way to graduating law school. It was a family tree such as this that made Roy wonder how his own apple had been buffeted all the way over to disrespected guard at a robot company that gave him peanut butter sandwiches for lunch that cost A WHOLE HOUR OF HIS PAYCHECK.

What was inside? GOLD FLAKES?

Roy stomped and munched down the corridor, dropping the crust into a nearby trash receptacle. You'd think that they had to crush the peanuts themselves. Did they think he was dumb? Didn't they know his lineage? He was Roy—well, he only went by Roy because his father had called him 'boy' for most of his childhood...and he hadn't realized it wasn't a name until the football recruiter gave him a weird look and took Reginald Corduroy off of the scholarship list.

Stopping, Roy the security guard leaned up on his toes and peered through a crack in one of the blackened windows lining the secret lab in his quadrant. He had always wondered what went on inside, but only recently had he begun debating on whether selling information should become his trade. At least just to get him a decent lunch.

His ears perked as he heard a scuffle, and he rounded a corner just in time to see a man and woman disappear down an adjoining hallway. To his right, the usually sealed electric door was wide open and parading an image of a computer screen with a spinning pinwheel of death. Nearby, as the script looped as it tried to refresh itself, a pile of metal twitched. Roy sighed. _What was the world coming to? _This wasn't even worth a salad with ranch dressing.

Yet, with doglike curiosity and catlike persistence, Roy followed the mysterious couple throughout the building. They tread quietly and referenced a map at times, which Roy was glad of, because they had left his usual route long ago and he doubted whether the three of them could have found their way anywhere without it. Then, amidst all the sneaking secrecy, which very nearly piqued Roy's interest, the two idiots opened a fire exit and the whole building exploded in alarms.

The two possible mercenaries donned shocked looks, looked at each other in panic, looked behind themselves at Roy who looked back at them with perturbation (well, now he _certainly _wouldn't find out what they were up to), and then jetted out the door they had erringly opened. Faked officer training aside, Roy _was _in fact _an athlete, _so, with no trouble at all, he shifted a hand to hold his gun in place and sprinted after them.

He made sure to leap through the doorway in epic style, because, after all, this probably was his fifteen minutes of fame.

When Roy landed, he immediately rolled to duck behind a fire hydrant, and then cast his eyes into the great beyond. Why was all of Zi a desert? What a boring place to live. Then his ears picked up what his eyes had missed, and he swiveled to focus on a jeep carrying the perpetrators down (what he had previously deemed) Rock and Shrub#3 Alley. He leapt, got a face-full of dust as Zephyr and Fate conspired with Irony and buffeted some more unfortunate wind in his direction, and thusly didn't even get a look at the license plate.

The wind whistled mournfully, or perhaps with merriment, and erased the jeep's tracks. "Dark Nyx!" He swore. He shook his fist at the sky. "What else do you want? My first born?" The blue sky at first remained unfazed by Roy's declarations, but after some introspection decided it would gain consciousness just long enough to pull one last joke on poor Boy.

The breeze died, and a small dot of white drifted down from the heavens. Roy stood transfixed as the sunlight glinted off of the creases and shimmered through the defective opacity before landing gently in his hands in the form of paper. On the paper was a drawing and with the drawing was writing. The CEOs of the company had miraculously found a way to communicate with a peon like him and were giving him a second chance to catch the evildoers. What mercy! What fellowship! To create a wanted poster and anonymously deliver it to him was a deed Roy would place in the highest regard until the end of his life.

He immediately called up the highest official he could through his walkie-talkie. "Sir! It's Roy!" He took a moment to quote the words on the sheet in his hands. "Flying Pigs have robbed the joint!"

. . .

The door _pinged _as Koga entered her office. She looked up, surprised.

"How did it go with the mechanic?"

"Well." She replied, thinking back to the conversations they'd had. The man had good ideas; some that frightened even her. However, she was at a loss of how to follow through on what she had been forced to concede. Leaving her musings, she noted that Koga was studying her face closely. Carefully, fearful of what he might be planning, she continued. "We were lucky those fools over in the Blitz Team didn't stick their noses into this crisis too. They had the perfect trump card gathering dust in their hangar and they didn't even offer it to our friend Mr. Clint."

"I'm happy it worked out well for you." His eyes looked sad, and he clicked the lock on his wheels while folding his large hands in his lap. "My Lady, I wish you'd use your Neo Warshark the next time we go into battle."

"I didn't want to blow our cover. Better to leave the blame with the ousted Desert Gang."

"You know as well as I do that the Strikers we bought are lacking a bulkhead between the engine bay and the cockpit." He glanced down at her stomach, hidden by her shirt and the wooden desk. "I don't want to watch you get hurt again."

Surprised by his concern, and the reference to the losses she rarely ever mentioned, Fuma studied her old friend closely. As she was chewing her bottom lip a startling thought crossed her mind, and the blood red obstruction slid from between her teeth with a glisten.

"You are one of my best pilots, aren't you Koga?"

He was a man of few words, so he nodded resolutely.

During her study of her maimed pilot, it occurred to her that he was studying her as well. It was carefully veiled, but truly there. In fact, the spark that manifested in the cruder regions of her being could only have been created from the longing in his eyes.

Then the shock turned sour, turned wretched from the taint of power. What a weakness to be exploited, friend. _Indeed, indeed. _

She moved toward him and placed her hands on the armrests of his wheelchair. He didn't even blink, but the pulse hammering in his neck gave him away. Providence, she thought, and took his lips passionately. He was lower than her in his seated position, and he had to reach upwards to grab her waist with his hands. Fuma was slightly surprised to detect no hesitance from him. Perhaps he had desired this longer than she had predicted.

Koga tugged on her body, trying to pull her closer, and she let him. The female climbed onto his lap, emitting a loud moan into his mouth to tempt him. He hissed back, the weakness of his legs almost unable to carry her weight. She shifted higher and he strained to buck his hips against hers. Koga was a man, and he had wanted for many, many months now.

She pulled her tongue out of his mouth to rest her head on his shoulder. "Do you care for me, Koga?"

"I'd do anything for you, Lady."

"Anything?" She smiled.

"Anything."

She pulled him into an embrace and a psychotic glint formed in her eyes. Her smile grew dark. Very dark. She purred. "_I'd like to introduce you to Clint_."

. . .

Brad Hunter was reclining on the blue couches in the recreation room after a long day of avoiding the rest of Leena and Jamie's pranks. He did well, if he wanted to toot his own horn, of never giving either of them the reaction they wanted. A good deadpan expression and a disapproving blink usually had them groaning in defeat and leaving him alone for the next hour.

He sighed contentedly. Now, only if he had found the time to pull something on Naomi. It was so rare he got to see her at it was, much less surprise her.

A feminine _ahem_ sounded above him, and he twisted to the left and came face-to-face with a leg. He jerked in surprise, but fingers quickly patted his cheek, helping him realize Naomi had somehow slipped into the base, and was now accidentally giving him the full privilege of eyeing her up before meeting her eyes.

Brad's eyes traced up the long legs, clad in the skintight burgundy boots that left a hint of the creamy skin of her thigh to entice him. The black garter she usually wore was on the wrong leg, but he secretly drank it in anyway, enjoying the way the green heart seemed to wink at him in the light. His eyes traveled even more upward, along Naomi's gold glove propped daintily on her hip and all the way up to the painted, pouting lips of Leena Toros. He let out a strangled gasp. "What in the name of Zoid Eve are you doing?"

She put down the camera. "Just a little side war, don't worry too much about it." She winked and stepped around the couch.

"Don't worry about it? It obviously concerns—"

But she paid him no heed as she sashayed out the door and brushed past Bit as he walked into the room, a towel thrown over his shoulder and a toothbrush in his mouth. Brad watched with comic interest as the young blonde's eyes widened and neck twisted to follow her down the hall.

"What's up, Bit?" He asked, bringing back his usual nonchalance.

"Shower." He replied around his toothbrush, the dumbfounded look still apparent across his features.

The mercenary allowed a little of the mirth that had previously been directed at him to creep into his voice. "A cold one I'm guessing?"

. . .

"We're the ones who destroy the thing, and Bit's horrible picture is still more famous than I am." Harry shut the television off and flopped onto the ground. The domed ceiling at the base was shined so well he could almost see himself staring dolefully at himself. He made a mental note to get Sebastian a boyfriend.

"At least a barely animate object didn't call you a gargoyle." Mary pouted and surreptitiously checked her reflection in the roof—her nose wasn't piggish…right? She rubbed at her snout while reminding herself to give the Tigers Team a day off. Maybe her reflection in all of the furniture had been too high of a demand.

Harry's head lolled to the side and he watched her self-consciously fix the curls in her hair and pleats in her dress. "You only look like a witch in the mornings, and only then if you forget to take the curlers out before coming down to breakfast."

"Thanks, Harry. There has been some well intentioned advice I've been meaning to offer as well." She whacked him with a couch pillow. "In the future, try not to be such a girl's petticoat when you're running from the law."

"What injustice; the indignity!" His already peaked hairstyle grew even more pointed. "My memory is a tad fuzzy because of the emotional trauma, but I seem to remember you using me as a stepstool to get into the jeep faster."

"And the bards will sing the poetry of your sacrificial deeds for your dear sister for centuries. Maybe you'll even be the star of a television show."

"Probably not."

"Yeah, probably not." But because he looked so sad she propped her ankles on his stomach. He squawked at her. "At least you'll always have me."

"Oh, fantastic. Remind me to forfeit my inheritance." Harry glanced up at her, but he caught the twinkle in her eye. Another moment of silence had previously begun preparing itself in memory of their many failures and shortcomings, but the mirth suddenly passing between them tickled and winked and the moment burst into a memory. The siblings laughed and giggled and decided once and for all that they were never going to listen to their father again like all rebellious children should, and the blue sky sighed and went to sleep with a smile.

. . .

_Next time on Zoids:_

_"Dr. Laon, at your merciful service. I know there are few good thoughts you could have of me—it's usually either, Laon: that traitor, or Laon: that soft-hearted fool. However, if your love had been stolen from under your nose by the rest of your trio, I'm sure you would act similarly. With friends like those who needs enemies, am I right? Toros, I understood, but et tu, Oscar? Next time on Zoids, three stooges—nothing but the truth. And as a side comment, try Laon: that mad, wonderful genius. Ready? Fight!"_

* * *

><p><strong>And <strong>so ends what I like to call the Undrafted Arc. I have nicknamed the next bout of chapters the Emotion Arc. Now, this doesn't mean we won't see Fuma, and it doesn't mean people are about to start professing their undying love for each other, getting married, or jumping in front of bullets. I just mean, for this upcoming Arc, there will be some scenes that are at the very least awkward or at the very most nauseating. There will also be character development. Technically, I melded the two arc's in this chapter. Yay for unplanned transitions.

Royyyy, you're my favorite.

I really didn't like this chapter at first, as all who read my author's blurb know, but I think I like it much better now. I did a lot of blending and added more Fuma/Koga interaction. The reason this was such a problem is because these were originally three chapter ideas badly melded into one. However, pulling the theme into Fools and showing how everyone was a fool and how they all failed and succeeded in their own ways made this chapter eons better in my eyes. This caused the chapter name to change. "Through the Fire and Flames" is replaced with "Every Fool Suffers Failure." Which I like as a replacement because it does the double repeat with the F's again haha.

**Reviews: **I almost didn't have any, but two days after I posted my author blurb, Randomcat and John Doe reviewed! I basically fixed this entire chapter today, but logging on and seeing your reviews today made that time invested so much more worth it. To john doe, thank you for your compliments_—_they give me heart murmurs haha. You are very right about being proud of my work before I post it_—_holding myself to my own standard is so important for a story I care about. Not just to me, but to the reviewers, as you say. You would be able to tell if I was slacking off. And I am so happy to hear you like the BL segments hahah I spend an unhealthy amount of time on them. Randomcat, I'm glad you liked Doc's scene! He cracks me up, but I think he really deserves some lovin' and not just be used as comic relief. You know the Fire Phoenix eh? heh heh heh. I'm glad you liked the Bit and Leena scene as well; I was actually very worried that everyone would be put off by it. You're very right that they're relationship in the show is mostly innocently violent, and that _is_ difficult to work with character-wise for romance—but I so thoroughly enjoy writing their arguments that I think it'll escalate slowly enough to be believable. Glad you like the Wild Eagle persona as well :] I lurve it too.

Anyways, next episode Laon, Oscar, and Steve collide! The famous trio indeed. I can't wait!


	15. Episode 15

Episode Fifteen

_Three Stooges—Nothing But The Truth_

_"Using mechanical combat units known as Zoids."_

"Err, how has this become corroded already?" Bit questioned to the taller of Harry's robots.

"Benjamin!" Bleeped the single robot. "Too much circuit sex!"

The newly reconstructed robot blushed. "I had to prove to my judge that I haven't been ignoring him all of this time!"

"Zoid Eve…what have I been touching…"

_—_

In the kitchen of the vast Champ base, Leena had joined Harry during Bit's maintenance check, and was currently assisting him in the fine art of cooking. He had an apron on that she had previously mentally deemed adorable.

"Wait, wait." Leena called to her potential fiancé, stilling his arm with her hand. "Don't put more rice flour in there; the cookies will be too brittle."

"It's powdered sugar." He said, laughing as some poofed into her face as she grabbed it from him.

"Well you don't put it in _before _you bake the cookies," she griped.

The brunette shrugged, "It's all sugary goodness in the end."

She laughed, "Oh, you're hopeless."

They mixed, kneaded, rolled, cut, and somewhere in the process the prince got a piece of dough stuck to his eyebrow. Leena slid the cookies home and shut the oven. To her left, Harry was enjoying the remaining cookie dough out of their mixing bowl and watching her movements fixedly. His eyes trailed her as she unbent at the waist. _Oh, Harry, Harry, Harry._

She flashed a full-fledged smile to disarm him, and then leapt upon the bowl like Brad's Shadowfox. After yanking it from his hands she couldn't help the grin she gained while watching his face go from enraptured to surprise.

"You tricked me!"

"I'm just using my assets," she giggled. "Watch the cookies while I go check if Bit is done yet, okay?"

She swept out of the kitchen while enjoying some fresh cookie dough, then made her way to the foyer where she'd left Bit and the robots. She hoped they were still there, because only the Empire knew where that guy could get to when he started wandering.

Luckily, she heard Benjamin say something about which outlets had the most delicious electricity, and found Bit seated on a small stool with Harry's maintenance kit for the robots spread out on the table behind him. Somewhere along the line he had lost his shirt, and was using the fabric like a glove as he replaced a circuit board inside the larger robot.

The young woman ambled up to him with her silver bowl. "Were you worried about electrocution?" She asked amiably while giving Sebastian a small head pat.

"Actually, I was worried about fingering Benjamin without protection."

She pretended she didn't hear that and watched him screw the metal encasing on again. She found it singularly interesting because she could watch the tendons in his arms moving rhythmically, and follow them to the muscles in his back. Her heart warmed deliciously and she realized for this moment she was slightly attracted to him.

She shrugged inwardly. She could admit that a man fixing things was sexy. It was an arbitrary statement.

He swiped at the back of the robot to remove any smudges, then pushed him away in joking disgust. The pilot swung his shirt over his shoulder and relaxed into his stool, only then looking up at the female standing next to him. She smelled like baking.

"You two were making cookies?"

"Yeah." She finished licking one delicate finger clean, then used her dry pinkie to scoop a dollop up for her teammate. She thrust it into his mouth playfully.

"Thanks, mom." He said around it, and she giggled because it tickled. She withdrew her finger, shiny from his tongue, and he swallowed. "It would have tasted good if it hadn't been tainted by your flesh."

"What!" And…she dumped the bowl on his head.

A chime ran through the base as Bit pulled the container from his face and cleaned the remaining dough from his hair with a swipe of his hand. He was still laughing, but he managed to say, "Shall we get the door?"

Leena huffed and moved ahead of him, letting him follow her until she was able to activate the base's entrance.

"Leena, my dear, always a pleasure to see you." The widow-peaked Dr. Laon bent at the waist and kissed the back of her hand with a flourish.

The shock felt by the two teammates took a moment to adjust to, and Laon smiled amiably through their baffled questions until they were able to speak coherently—at which time he cut them off anyways.

"I was able to bargain for some time with you from my incorrigible rival. Are you free for the day?"

"I was planning on helping Oscar with his target practice actually," Bit replied. Laon and Leena looked at him blankly and a wolfish grin spread across his face. He backed up a few steps to stay out of range in case Leena decided to don her scowl. She did.

"My father doesn't own my time! He can't trade it."

"It will be a day fit for a queen."

She allowed her scowl to decline to pursed lips. "I expect mid-afternoon tea."

Laon bowed deeply, and remained that way as he answered, "I am at your service." Leena shrugged as she acquiesced.

"I expect to be home by tonight. None of that kidnapping business!" Leena exited the base haughtily and Laon remained inclined while he shut the door behind them.

Bit cast his eyes about the foyer; suddenly aware of the zero reasons he had to still be here. On second thought…"Hey, Harry!" he shouted while turning in the direction he believed was the kitchen. "Leena said I could have her share!"

. . .

Brad Hunter flopped onto his bed and crossed his banded arms behind his head with a contented sigh. Rotating his ankles in a slow stretch, he flipped on speaker-phone and hummed while the line continued to ring.

"Hello, you." Naomi greeted in her usual sultry voice, made all the more enticing from the fact that neither of them were in public.

"Sorry again that I had to cancel last night."

"It's alright, I know you have obligations to the Blitz."

"I'd like to be having obligations to you." A slow smile spread across the mercenary's face as he heard the sniperess chuckle quietly at his bad innuendo.

"Okay then. Tonight. My place?"

The sheets rustled as Brad shifted—a well-timed pause to push down certain thoughts. "As good of friends as I am with Leon, I was thinking something more…out."

"Mr. Hunter, I'm flattered. By 'out' do you mean 'alone'?" She held her breath and Brad could practically hear her smile. If he was being truthful to himself, he was feeling slightly giddy as well.

"You, me, Shadow, and the city."

"That's four."

He forgot to clear his throat, and his voice came out husky. "Well then, we'll just have to find a way to drop those extra wheels."

. . .

Sweets were a delicacy, a treat, and Bit considered himself quite the mundane connoisseur of the sugary snack. During the years he'd spent as a pirate, he hadn't exactly been rolling in riches, and what money he did make usually went to Zoid parts and other basic necessities—a list which did not include the occasional cookie. Joining the Blitz team cured this particular ailment, and now he was free to indulge.

However, the taste of Harry and Leena's cookies were slightly off. As he wondered if they'd mixed in an incorrect ingredient, the prince himself returned from his quick scrub-down and joined him in the kitchenette. "Benjamin and Sebastian have been teaching me how to cook! What's the judgment?"

"It could probably do with a little less lemon."

"Noted."

"Oh, boys?" Mary chimed through the intercom. "One of your gadgets is acting up, Harry. Come fix it please."

"Which one?"

"The one that makes the wonderful white noise sound—good for sleeping."

As Harry stood again from the table, his yellow coat billowing behind him, he clarified, "I got a radio scanner after the last big battle. Not quite legal, but it may come in useful."

"I'll be sure not to say anything too condemning through the airwaves then."

"Everything you say borders on reproachable. Now shoo, I've got business to attend to."

The brunette walked away, and quickly growing bored, Bit opted to tail him. The base was a right maze, but after a sufficient amount of twists and turns, that were sure to prevent the pilot from sneaking a single cookie more, the two landed in the control room. From a small plug-in on the main board, scratchy noises were weaving confusing conversations around them. "Oh, looks like you did pick someone up."

Harry swiveled and frowned at him. "You're still here? Why are you always sneaking around in my base?"

"You know you like the company."

The young corporation prince could not find a way to refute such a claim, so he turned his attention to the illegal music box. He adjusted frequencies and presumably some satellite arrangements before the voices snapped into clarity.

"_Bunch of fools."_

_"We've been up all night training. You can't keep us extra hours like this—we need rest."_

_"You can't until you WIN. And you won't win until you want it just as much as you want to breathe."_

Bit jumped, grabbing onto his friend's shoulder. "That's Ehga's voice."

"They're training new recruits then."

"I have to check it out." His adrenaline dimmed, and his lips folded into a frown. "I didn't bring Liger though."

Mary glanced between the two young men; her blonde curls bouncing. "Perhaps you could take one of our Zoids? The Tigers team is around outside somewhere, too. They are commendable backup."

"I'll call them in, you show him the hangar."

"Righteo." She saluted cutely and grabbed Bit's sleeve, yanking him after her. Moments later, she was sweeping him through the hallways, the girth of her skirts tripping up his feet. After an unfortunate stumble that Bit would describe as a minor balance challenge, and Mary described as a shriek and a faceplant, she ceased their forward momentum and turned to tut at him. "Honestly. A sense of decorum is lost on all of you."

"I take offense to that," Bit replied as he stood, dusting himself off. She swept her dress to the side with a huff, allowing him space to walk, but a quirk of her pink lips betrayed her amusement.

"So, Bit," she made a show of thinking carefully, "Harry tells me the two of you are rather good friends, relatively speaking of course. The both of you took quite a beating looking for Benjamin's Judge way back when."

He agreed with a shrug, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "We _did _spend a ridiculous amount of time putting Benjamin back together."

"Then you can offer a well-rounded male perspective to my problem. What do you think of Harry and Leena getting married? Sometimes I don't know how to feel about my baby brother going off on tangents about their great love. In my opinion, I think she could do with a little…" she pantomimed some motions with her hands, "…polishing."

"I don't think Leena's thinking about marriage….Is she thinking about marriage?"

"She's got a good skin tone, and with that waist and those breasts we could get her into one of Freesia's ivory dresses—she'd be presentable. But we would have to do something about her hair, and that personality. She's in Harry's life, and then she's out of it again. In and out, in and out. And I have to deal with the fallout!"

Weakly, "What are we talking about?"

"I just don't think they have a healthy enough relationship at this point. Do you agree?"

"I—I don't think anything. Ever." Mary raised both eyebrows in stark surprise, and Bit was forced to rely on his tongue again. "They can do what they want!"

"_Okay…_" The female responded with due skepticism. She then gestured politely with her chin, and Bit swung open a large set of double doors, his embarrassment adding unnecessary force. They entered into an expansive hangar, painted white and adorned with ammo and pieces of old Zoids that the Champs had used. Mary led him to a patched up Dibison and gestured. "I know I've repainted some of it pink, but it works fairly well."

Bit couldn't help the grimace that slid across his face. Instead of the olive green that standard Dibison's had for secondary colors, this one was steadily gaining a hot pink undertone. It was unwelcome on the tank, but it might be good for distracting the enemy in future battles. "Too clunky." In the corner, gathering dust, were Sebastian and Benjamin's old sand-colored cobras equipped with head-mounted turrets. They would be much more discreet. "I'll take a Cobra." A particularly guttural thought entered his mind and he quickly added, "Sebastian's that is. I'll take Sebastian's Cobra."

. . .

Leena slipped off her sandals and silently picked them up. She leapt forward with pointed toes like a ballerina, and hid behind a lamppost. She moved onwards in this manner until she had wiggled underneath a light blue car overlooking the bay. From her vantage point, she could make out Dr. Laon's dark boots and hear him speaking quietly into his SATphone.

"Well, I'm helping design it, aren't I?" The widow-peaked man rifled around in his pockets for breadcrumbs, then tossed them at the birds keeping him company.

"I don't think so."

"This is a bad idea. You're making a mistake—urg, fine."

He hung up and slipped the phone into his inner pocket. He muttered, "_I'll just have to take things into my own hands._" Animatedly, he brushed the remaining crumbs from his overcoat. "Now where did that girl get too?" He looked up and down the pier before walking off and shouting out her name.

The young warrior tucked her red strands behind her ears and heaved herself from the underbelly of the vehicle. She snuck around to her left, slipped her shoes back on, then turned suddenly and walked along the railings, as if she had been doing that the whole time. At the last moment she remembered to rub the asphalt from her pink tank top.

_What could he have been talking about? The Shadowfox? And to whom? Fuma? _She didn't want to peg him as the type that would sell secrets that could get her team in trouble, but you could never be too cautious.

"Ah, Leena, from a distance you look exactly like your mother."

She turned in surprise and found Dr. Laon a few feet behind her. She thought about confronting him, but realized this was not the opportune time. He still had the keys after all.

"You really liked her, didn't you?"

"I would say a little bit more than liked."

"Then why did you let her marry my dad?"

"Because he was my best friend." He pointed a finger at her face and she went cross-eyed. "The key word there is 'was'."

"I know you have a heart made out of gold. You can't trick me."

"My heart is made of coal!" He clenched a fist in what was supposed to seem menacing but came off as theatrical. "Don't you remember me kidnapping you and your boyfriend on separate occasions? And hanging him from my Whale King?"

"You must mean Harry Champ."

"Yes, that young lad. Your heart would turn to coal too if he had died that day, wouldn't it?"

"I would be incredibly sad...but coal?"

Laon looked taken aback. "I was under the impression you would be married soon."

"Where would you hear something like that!?"

"You love him, don't you?"

Leena choked and stuttered out, "What?" Dr. Laon repeated himself clearly then continued to watch her pensively. "I…well, I like how much he loves me."

He nodded in dawning understanding. "Do you imagine yourself married to him in the future?"

She squeaked, cleared her throat, then gave up and sort of nodded yes while giving a flustered shrug.

"You're about as red as your brother's Liger," the evil doctor noted.

She yammered on, continuing needlessly. "How can we have a relationship if I can't love him as much as he loves me?" She lifted her hands and covered her ears like a child, as if the word scared her.

"Deep emotions take time. Look at your parents—" He shut his eyes and slipped on an excessively melancholy look, "they grew to love each other over time."

"Yeah, because of Oscar's letter," she mumbled. "But, what if a few years down the road we haven't clicked? What if I realize marrying him was a mistake? I'm too young for this!" She tore at her hair, and Dr. Laon grabbed at her wrists and held them away from her body.

When she relaxed, hanging like a puppet in an ungainly Y-shape, he questioned her again. "But wouldn't you run into his arms if a King Gojulas rose from the grave?"

"_I don't know,_" she said forlornly. "Tell me what to do, Dr. Laon. When will I know if I would?"

He shifted to take her limp hands in his. "Oscar's letter?"

A frog jumped into her throat. He kissed both of her palms.

"Leena, my dear, if there's anything I can impart to you as your intended father; it's that you haven't been in love unless you've contemplated murder."

Then the onerous and gentlemanly Dr. Laon turned and sprinted away from her, huffing like a bull.

. . .

Bit slithered forward in the Cobra as the Tigers team trailed after, Zabrefang bellies close to the ground. The controls of the Cobra were lighter, and there was a whole section dedicated to tail movement that had altogether baffled him during his first attempt at driving.

The four skulking warriors reached a ridge and allowed the telescoping feature on their monitors to zoom in to the field below them. Hidden between dried out cliffs in a basin that once held a large river, a large group of Zoids lined up in the face of Ehga's Neo Warshark and Polta's Pillbug. Some conversation was obviously taking place, and Bit radioed to the Champs back at base. "Do you think you could patch their radio chatter through to us?"

"On it." Sebastian answered, accessing something unknown to the pilots as numbers and codes suddenly scrolled up his cockpit's screen.

"This is old school."

"Well, it wasn't exactly legal software."

"I'm liking you more every day, Harry."

The script finished running, and the hacking program now uploaded to the Zoids brought up the conversation below. Polta had just turned to leave. "Training these kids is taking valuable time out of our schedules, don't you agree Ehga?" The masked, blue-haired man paused, the smugness in his voice unmistakable. "Oh, right. This is your only job. Well, you know what they say…those that can't do…teach." The Pillbug tucked and rolled, and a good amount of forces followed him down the empty ravine.

A growl, "You three; I didn't dismiss you."

The remaining Molga's stopped abruptly, and their wormlike heads turned to face the burned pilot hidden in the Neo Warshark. They were painted a bright red, yellow, and blue—primary colors to perhaps reveal their low status. They could be heard groaning and muttering.

"Oh, too much excitement for the Exciter Team?" Ehga's shark slithered too and fro, half out of the sandy ground. His jaws snapped. "Well? Answer me."

"No, sir." Replied Red half-heartedly.

"Is someone's mother waiting for them back at base, arms open and ready to dry their tears?"

"No, sir." Yellow answered meekly, hoping to avoid the rage now mounting against them.

"Then your whining must be a result of your weak-willed, lily-livered natures. Too many years spent piloting losing battles in the buckets of bolts you called Command Wolves?"

"No, sir. I mean, yes, sir." Finished Blue, accepting defeat at the hands of the angry, mohawked figher.

"And here am I, giving you access to upgraded Molgas and tactics that made the Fuma Team _infamous_," here, Ehga's Neo Warshark thrashed, tossing a wave of sand over protruding river rocks, "and you three would rather take a nap."

Silence reigned over for a moment, and Bit and the three members of the Tigers Team shared a serious look.

"It's high time I explained the elusive concept of _fear_." As the burned pilot's words ended, the Neo Warshark sunk underground, light glinting off of its polarized eyes before the Zoid disappeared entirely. Red, Yellow, and Blue formed a loose triangle, then backed steadily towards the nearest wall. "First—the longer you hide, the more every shadow becomes an ally."

Thinking it was some sort of clue, the Exciter Team glanced at the fading shadows created by the cliff's overhangs. The Tigers Team was just as intrigued, moving further into the canyon where Bit's slithering, lightweight Zoid would have lost traction much easier. They found a fissure that they soon climbed partially down—in order to gain a better vantage point of the soon-to-be-battle. "Kirkland, stay away from the sand, or did you not learn your lesson the first time?"

"Laid up in our Zabre Fangs for hours on end taught us quite enough." The brunette grinned at Bit. "Your Cobra is visible."

"It wasn't my idea to attach giant Gatling guns." The champion groused, laying further onto the ground and slipping away from the Tigers and their fissure until the Cobra could claim camouflage above an incline below the sun. In his opinion, blinding those searching for him was just as good as a convenient pile of rocks.

"Second—every pilot fears losing control. When you're underground, they must wait on you; the battle is in the palm of your hand. Make them know that."

Bit's radar blipped, but before he could catch Ehga in the act, the Neo Warshark had once again hidden underground, leaving a torpedo whistling toward Yellow. The Molga's scattered, and Ehga's harsh laughter soon cut through the resulting explosion. "Are you going to fight back? Or just pussyfoot around until I drag you out?"

Red, Yellow, and Blue rallied, and then they began firing a spray of ammo from the Gatling guns mounted on their Molga's backs. Yellow eventually dove underground, presumably to try and locate the missing coelacanth. When Yellow resurfaced his friends ceased firing, and the trio stood wavering again.

"The third I learned the hard way. It gives a whole new meaning to 'the truth hurts', because, for me, it burned." Here, his voice started out sharp as a razor's edge, "The powerless…fear…everything," and it ended with a roar. Ehga leapt upwards, his Neo Warshark easily clearing fifteen feet, and clamped his jaws on the leg of a now shrieking Omari. It took only a tug to pull him away from safety, and on the way down, the beam cannon fired, almost completely severing the Zoidian leg.

"My command system is frozen!"

Kirkland and Lineback were shouting with different levels of fear and intensity, and Bit cut in quickly before Ehga could pull another move. The Neo Warshark gleamed in the light, the entire fishlike body lying above the surface of its safe sand, and to Bit, it was obvious who had the status quo. "Don't let him see your faces." He knew he could never win against the Fuma Team pilot in this Cobra. And this sad but true fact saw him pressing his borrowed Zoid closer to the ground beneath him—hoping not to be seen.

"Exciter Team…it looks like I've found you a practice round. I've even thought of rules." The shark ducked underground, filling the airwaves with a bout of static before re-emerging on the outskirts of the ravine. "You can fight these opportunistic Zabrefangs. Win, and I'll give you the rest of the day off. Lose, and you can walk back to base. Oh, and look at that sun. It's getting hot out. Better make it fast."

Frantic, Kirkland radioed Bit, his gelled hair sticking up at odd angles. "What do we do?"

Thinking fast, he replied, "The one big advantage you have is that they've been up all night. Their reflexes will be slow. Take out Red first, he acts like their leader."

Just as Bit finished talking, Ehga's raspy voice started again. He, though, had no idea the opposing team was listening in on his tips. "Two of you should already be underground. Blue, you're bait."

"Keep moving. Don't give them the chance to sneak up underfoot. Feint for Blue." Kirkland and Lineback bolted forward, then split into two wide arcs to come at the blue Molga from two different angles.

As the distance closed… "Now!"

"Dodge!"

Yellow and Red burst from the sand, firing their back-mounted guns at the approaching tigers. Their split-second warning saved them from the worst of the fire, and the moment Lineback landed, he leapt back, a zig-zag, providing scatter fire with his laser gun and aiming for a Strike Laser Claw. Blue hunkered down, spraying a fine mist onto the cockpit of Lineback's Fang. "I can't see!"

"You won't have to—veer left!" Lineback followed the instructions as Bit yelled them out to him, and he found a five second reprieve to bury his head into the dirt. "It won't come off."

"It must be a sticky silk. I've heard of Molga drones equipped with it. Kirkland, beware of their mouths."

The Tigers Team leader nodded the affirmative, adding, "Red has a different sort of gun in his mouth. It looks like a laser."

"Helic, I've never been good with tactics," Bit muttered to himself, scanning the field quickly, willing his mind to come up with something. The chess game continued without him, however, and Ehga ordered the Exciter team into an underground triangular formation, aimed at permanently taking Lineback out of the match. "Power your Strike Laser Claw, when you jump to dodge their fire, land on them instead. You'll do some damage."

The Molga's guns cleared the sand first, and Lineback leapt slightly forward—with his current blindness it was luck that caused the initial bullets to fly through his legs, and he landed with a crunch on Yellow. Kirkland fired a quick pulse of shots, and Yellow was taken out of the battle. Lineback's Zabre Fang stumbled forward, and tilted precariously as he fell from the frozen Molga. Again, luck was with him when Ehga's jarring laughter broke through the comm-links and caused the Exciter team to pause in their attack. "The dumb leading the blind." He chuckled humorlessly for another moment. "The downed pilot must be feeding directions to the silked one. Take him out and you'll gain the advantage back."

"Damn." Kirkland cursed, and stated sprinting towards Omari's frozen Zoid. Lineback followed after, using the blips of his friend's Zoid on radar as guidance. The Molga's moved with them, leaping from the ground like dolphins as they raced. The young leader arrived with Blue, snapping at the worm's tail as it leapt over Omari's Zabre Fang, the Molga spraying blankets of silk whenever Kirkland got to close. While distracted thusly, Red curled from underground, the laser cutter in his mouth immediately cutting through the cockpit glass.

"I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die…" Omari chanted, unbuckling himself and hiding behind the metal chair.

"Tell me where to shoot!" Lineback cried when he skidded to a halt near the battle, unfortunately thirty degrees off as he started layering laser pulses into the surrounding cliffside.

The Tigers Team descended rapidly into chaos, and Bit looked on in growing dread as their fate began to dawn on him. All four of them might not make it out of this safely. Then, Ehga's amused snort echoed through the illegal connection and Bit was struck with a wonderful, horrible idea. He wanted power? Well they'd give it to him, and they'd take it away as soon as he got used to it. "Kirkland—lose."

"What?"

But in the moment of Kirkland's hesitation, Blue landed a hit, coating the last standing Zabre Fang in silk, blinding him. As Red started on the second laser cut line, Blue leapt forward there as well, silking Omari's smoking windscreen.

"Lineback, three steps left and then rotate to two o'clock. Kirkland, stay there, crouch down."

They followed instructions, and the Molga's retreated a few steps back, eyeing up their 'blinded' competition. Ehga slithered forth from his shaded vantage point, shedding sand at a position of twelve o'clock to the crouching Tigers Team. "I'm surprised, but well done. Finish off these last two, then let's go see your mothers. Maybe we'll bring your new friends along and have a family dinner."

Red and Blue split, quietly attempting to get to the sides of the tigers, going for the body-shot. Omari murmured nervously and Bit shushed him. "Kirkland—aim for nine. Lineback, you're three. On my signal."

Ehga—"Well, get on with it."

"_Shoot_." And they did, the sudden swivel of their guns and burst of firepower surprising the Molga's, who were unable to duck into the safety of the sand in time, the wave of laser shots smothering them. There was a bloom of electricity, and then the two worm Zoids tipped onto their sides. "_Shh. Just wait_."

Silence, and then laughter. Such a roll of laughter that tears must have rolled down Ehga's cheeks. "You three idiots." He paused to wipe at his eyes with a palm. "I hope you have extra toothbrushes, because you'll be scrubbing Polta's bathroom with your main pair tonight. And as you learned today, he has an aiming problem." Then, with peals of laughter, the Neo Warshark slipped underground and was lost from their soundwaves. A few moments later, the Molga's cockpits detached with a hiss, and the Exciter Team flew away down the ravine.

"If we follow them, we learn where the Undrafted base is parked." Kirkland stated.

"If we don't follow them, then I can go throw up in some bushes in peace." Lineback replied.

Omari shrugged. "I think we should follow. I'm feeling suicidal. Also—masochistic."

. . .

Oscar Hemeros walked into the small kitchen inside the Hover Cargo and grabbed a dishcloth. "Jamie, where's the glass cleaner?"

"Under the sink, I guess." His son called back, poking his head in and watching his dad clean his goggles. "How did practice go?"

The older man gave a noncommittal shrug and placed the goggles back around his neck. "When you get to my age, you start to care less about training and more about quality time."

"Dad, training is important. Look at how many unsanctioned battles we've been in since the Royal Cup!"

Oscar laughed loudly and pulled his son under his arm, giving him a noogie. "So quick to tell your old man off, are you? Don't forget, I've still got a little Wild Eagle left on my side."

Jamie pouted underneath his father's large knuckles and his black hair poked out in odd angles. "I hope I grow tall enough to avoid these in the future."

"To me, you'll always be little Jamie."

"I figured as much."

As the aged aviator watched his son walk away, he couldn't help but bound forward and lift him off the ground in a bear hug. "I remember when you were just a little baby!"

"Dad, you're so embarrassing!"

"You're growing into such a mature young man, Jamie," Oscar continued, still hugging him.

"I'm just lucky Brad isn't here to see this." Jamie blinked in sudden awareness. "Come to think of it, no one is here to see this. Where is everyone?"

His father looked around as well, and finally set him down to do so. "Good question, where's Steve?"

—

"Hyper Shield, up and running!" The pink and glowing safety bubble glimmered into existence and Dr. Toros put on a simpering smile. "Now try and shoot me!"

"Who said I was trying to?" Dr. Laon called down from his golf-cart on the cliff face. "I need to speak to that overall-wearing blighter!"

"Did you just call me overall-wearing?" Oscar slid his wind goggles over his eyes and, in the mobilized Fire Phoenix, swooped lower towards his old friend Laon.

The egg-headed doctor focused intently on where he assumed the eyes of Jamie's father were, then asked quietly, "You wrote the love letter? And it was you that signed Steve's name?"

The beefy aviator gaped, and the Fire Phoenix accidentally tilted sideways. "I file that memory under 'unfortunate accidents.'"

Laon replied calmly, unfolding his arms. "Then I have no choice but to chop you up and feed your liver to the wild dogs."

"Or we can grill some 'dogs like the old days?"

"No more old days!" And Dr. Laon turned his stereo on, set it to the frequency 96.7 (it used to be the wind chime station and he was glad to be rid of it), and thus activated his weather machine to send down a devastating tornado on the tail of the Phoenix.

Oscar was jerked forward by the magnetic flux, then buffeted sideways by the increasingly strong winds. True to its top-heavy nature, the Fire Phoenix flipped wrong side up. "_And_ I'm upside down again!"

Even as the graceless bird lost stability, it's high end Magnesser system kept it afloat, and the original Wild Eagle was able to steer clear of some of the crazier things the sandstorm threw at him.

"You handsome devil, feel the wrath of my thunder!"

"I don't think that was an insult."

Oscar allowed himself to be swept into the shield of the Hover Cargo, where he then set upon the awkward task of righting himself. The Phoenix let out a squawk, but found purchase amongst the crackling pink energy, soon after releasing its wings and plunging towards the lone golf cart.

As the distance closed, Jamie's father was able to make out a small black antennae amidst the raging storm._ Maybe if I can just close my jaws around it_…

A lightning bolt flashed bright and hot, and the not-always-so-good doctor's face lit up. The usual determined glint was in his eyes, but something else registered there. Perhaps amusement. He raised a fist in the air. "Hail, King Laon!" He shouted, then slammed his foot on the gas.

Luckily, the golf cart did not careen over the edge of the cliff. Instead, it reversed until Laon could swoop about in a U-turn and start racing away from the approaching bird. He raised the volume on his odd radio, and rain poured from the sky.

"Flammable Zoid Cores!" Dr. Laon cursed, peeking over his shoulder while fiddling with the dials. He appeared to find what he wanted, because he raised his fist in the air again and repeated his past proclamation. It was unheard over the roar of the wind, but this time when he punched the amplifier, the rain froze in the sky and shifted to hail.

Soon, they were golf-ball sized and Laon laughed at the irony. "Take that, you balding eagle!"

"Balding? Take a look at your five-head!"

"Close-cropped hair is in style!"

The poor Phoenix couldn't take much of the pounding, and soon landed with the balls of ice stuck in its joints. Unable to change position, the Fire Phoenix and Oscar waited dolefully while Laon cackled in victorious figure-eights.

The Shadowfox quickly had quite enough of that and landed with a yowl in front of the grounded plane. "I just spent weeks fixing this penguin!" Brad growled at the still cavorting doctor.

"Come to use my own creation against me, are you?"

Brad leapt forward, releasing the electric net just as he was above the golf cart. The hail caught the edges and pulled it down quickly. However, Laon simply lowered the volume to return to rain, then slithered out from underneath the chargeless net.

"Try the smoke screen; we'll see what I can cook up."

The mercenary glowered, but activated his smoke canisters, allowing the Fox to howl in its eerily high-pitched scream until it was completely covered by the rolling smog. The rain would beat it down quickly enough, but—

Dr. Laon changed the channel and a wind picked up from the East, sweeping away the smoke just as soon as it settled. However, it revealed Brad's Shadowfox with his teeth around the golf cart's antennae.

"I have my teeth, Laon."

"That you do." The widow-peaked man grinned apologetically, and shut the entire weather system down. In a matter of minutes Zi's sun peeked from behind the grey clouds, and promptly evaporated all remaining puddles with a hiss. The Shadowfox released him and shook from head to tail like a dog, bespattering the area with twinkling droplets.

As Laon scuttled to safety, he made an _I'm watching you_ gesture at the beached Oscar, then pointed an accusatory finger at their snaillike base. "Toros! Don't think that I'm through with you either!" The evil doctor turned and began puttering away on his golf-cart. "One day soon, the both of you will wake up to find you're missing your favorite kidney!"

. . .

"I remember that whole bit about you writing Laon's love letter," Brad crossed his arms and leaned back into the circular blue couches, "and it doesn't explain today's weather patterns."

"That rendition is slightly incorrect, because the anti-gravity catastrophe distracted me." Dr. Toros replied.

Bit narrowed his eyes, "More like another example of your flair for the dramatic."

The father of two shrugged in airy innocence and his old friend piped up, "The truth is, all those years ago, I wrote the letter and accidentally signed Toros's name."

"You were in love with Leena's mom too?" Bit asked in astonishment.

"No, I'd already met my future wife by that time. I suppose that's why it was safe to ask me."

"Good," Jamie said in relief, "I don't want to imagine myself with red hair."

"What was that about imagining red-haired children?" Brad asked with false confusion and the two fathers waggled their eyebrows at each other.

Jamie steadily started turning a dark red, and his voice rose in pitch. "Don't you two even start!"

"But little Leena-Jamies would be so cute." Bit grinned, and Jamie buried his head in his lap until only his blushing ears could be seen.

The four men chuckled a little longer at the poor boy's expense, and then Dr. Toros leaned his head back and sighed. "Oh, Laon."

"She must have been beautiful," Brad commented, "your wife."

Toros nodded, "She really was. She had long red hair, and such clear skin." He sighed again. "Luckily only Leena takes after her. It would be an odd look for Leon."

Then, with an automated _ping_, the door to the lounge swung open and a dark shadow filled the yawning hole it revealed. Thunder crashed and shook the base. The thing gnashed its teeth.

"Laon left me in town! It's raining! I have _blisters!_"

Leena, for the fiery redhead it was, stomped over to the Blitz team seated on the rounded couches and punched her father in the side of the head.

"They _hurt!_" Father slumped over, and daughter continued her stomping out of the room, soaked through like a drowned cat.

The rest of the Blitz let out a collective sigh of relief.

"Let's make a pact," whispered Jamie (in case the beast had gained supernatural hearing), "bachelors for life?"

_. . ._

_Next time on Zoids:_

_"Dr. Steve Toros' Captain Log, entry 0002. There seem to be some, ahem, problems with the Hover Cargo's climate control, so we've been, er, forced to head back to the labs at the Academy to pick up some new gadgets. So many memories…making friends…getting death threats. The air there must have an inclination towards rivalries, because talk of the arena seems to have Bit and Leon itching to get into their Ligers. Next time on Zoids, The Academy—Rivals Clash Again. Sports and outdoors, not to mention the right stuff at a reasonable price. Ready? Fight!"_

* * *

><p><strong>I <strong>think Jamie and Leena are cute, Mary and Jamie is weird, Pierce and Bit are obvious, Jack and Chris are contrived, and Harry and Kelly don't make any sense—but I might make them happen for fun. What other non-canon couples have I used? Oh yeah, I was gonna throw in some Mary/Kirkland this chapter for giggles but it didn't happen. Not like these mini couple segments matter for much anyway.

Also, naughty Brad, very naughty! :) Brad and Naomi have been having some good times, but as you hopefully noticed, he had to cancel their date this chapter...again. Watched ep 18 for Harry-character refresher, and Brad ends up drinking coffee in Harry's base. I take back my comments about his coffee addiction. He likes coffee! Even if it is potentially stale!

Also, just noticed all the men are bachelors! They're the Wolfpack! (TM The Hangover) Also, I thought of some more lore. At first it annoyed me how similar Leon and Laon's name's were (I'm going off of the Zoid Wiki spelling), but now I think maybe Leon was partially named after Laon. That would be interesting eh?

Other things...I just noticed that there are a ton of German words in this show. I can't believe I never noticed! As my computer translator goes: Blitz = lighting; Jaeger = hunter; Panzer = tank; Schneider = cutter. It's super obvious now that my eyes have been opened. Also excited that ffnet lets me use exclamation marks next to question marks again: !? I'm so happy.

**Reviews: **Gojiralee—I never knew the details about flying pigs and Cincinnati, but I looked it up after your comment. Totally makes me laugh, awesome! Harry and Mary were bad kids last chapter, but that's such a big deal with growing up. Making mistakes teaches you who you are, and so this is a big character development step for them! If their parents found out...well...let's just say they'd be losing their allowances for awhile hahaha. Randomcat—Fuma is devious isn't she? I'm having fun with her. However, now she's busy, so I figured this is a prime time to flesh out the other characters of the Fuma team...make them scary again. I'm really glad you liked Leena's pranks hahaha I totally wish they'd shown 'extras' like that on the show as well. Also, I got two new faves this past month :) They didn't review but I still super appreciate it!

**Disclaimer:** I've been forgetting to do this. I do not own NC0. Neither do I own the Exciter Team, they're shown momentarily on the show. Dunno if I made up the word SATphone. Most likely not, but I don't know where I heard it initially.

Chapter thoughts: If any of you have been frequenting my profile page, you'll see I've been posting updates on where I am on the 'next' chapter. If so, you saw that I added in a side-quest this chapter, belatedly, way after planning the chapter! The side-quest was actually the Ehga battle. I wanted to make the Fuma team scary again. I thought it was a great addition to the chapter, and went well with the three stooges theme. It was also drastically needed—I noticed I was turning Laon/Steve/Oscar into a big comedy and I needed something serious besides the mysterious Laon/SATphone conversation, which is important btw. If you aren't wondering about him...you should start.

Favorite part...circuit sex. What even is that?! I don't know but it _sounds _hilarious.

Final thoughts: I love you all :) See you next chapter!


	16. Episode 16

Episode Sixteen

_The Academy—Rivals Clash Again_

_"The enthusiastic young warriors…"_

Bit Cloud stretched, yawned, threw his bed covers off, and swung his feet onto the ground. Then he yelped and swung them back in.

"It's f-f-f-freezing!"

As his covers had already lost the warmth his body heat had previously provided, his teeth were soon clattering, and he imagined that he saw ice forming on the corners of his eyes. _I can't exactly yell for help, now can I? _He thought with a grimace. _I'm supposed to be some sort of Zoid warrior._

"Three…two…" Bit stuck his fingers in his mouth to thaw them, and then around the digits he shouted, "One!" He leapt up, ran back and forth across his room, and somewhere in the ruckus managed to change into suitable clothing. He then jumped up and down as he waited for his electronic door to creak into motion, then jetted for the Hover Cargo's living quarters.

Hopefully everyone else had not been turned into an ice zombie and could tell him how they ended up in the frigid wastelands of Northern Zi.

As the blue door pinged open, the blonde was met with a delicious gust of non-arctic air. He sighed in epic relief. "It's warmer in here compared to my room." Bit blinked and started fanning himself with his hand. "It's _much_ warmer." A thousand needles exploded on his skin. "I'm on fire!"

"Negative, Bravo-Charlie." Jamie voiced from his prone position on the floor. "You're just becoming un-numb."

Leena was flopped over the breakfast table and nursing a tall glass of water. The heat of the room seemed to have beaten the two of them into the ground. "Did you see the icicles in the hallway?"

"No, I was busy trying to keep the blood in my veins from congealing." Bit then noticed the good doctor slip an electric cord into his lab coat pocket and start humming quietly to himself. "Doc, please tell me—" He broke off to pant, the heat already getting to him, and he slumped down against a wall. "Please tell me…that there is a fixable explanation…for my frostbitten toes."

Dr. Toros tapped his chin thoughtfully. "It appears my climate control has gone haywire." He sauntered over to Bit and ruffled his hair. The pilot thought about sputtering indignantly, but decided instead to tilt over as his body went into (only partially feigned) shock. "I'll set a course for the Academy. My old lab should have something to fix Old Snaily up."

Steve Toros waved good-naturedly over his shoulder as he exited the room, telling them where to find him if they dared to brave the darkness.

Just as the door slid shut, it opened again, allowing Brad entrance while wielding a tool that looked suspiciously like an icepick. The mercenary walked in, shivered, and then asked his gathered teammates very calmly if it was the end of the world.

—

Bit could feel the temperature cooling down, and he released an audible sigh. "Finally." The living quarters had changed on a rolling loop from uncomfortably hot to uncomfortably cold. However, it remained considerably better than the frigid hallways.

Leena glanced over at him, and then down at her teammate's jacket that had been thrown onto the table. When he closed his eyes and stretched his arms along the back of the curved couches, she snuck forward and snagged the blue cloth.

As she was zipping it up to her chin, he opened his eyes in shock. "Are you cold already?"

"No, but in a few minutes I will be."

His green eyes brightened in dawning realization and he leveled a finger at her. "Give it back."

She shook her head with a triumphant smirk. "If you want it, you'll have to rip it off of me."

Bit frowned, realizing she already knew that he would never resort to such tactics. However, he couldn't let her beat him without some sort of retribution, so he made a retching noise. "You have just given me an image that made me want to puke." He heard her huff in perturbation at his rebuke of her (probably not) vomit-worthy nakedness. "Now, excuse me while I make an igloo out of these pillows."

"I do not excuse you. I think I would rather watch you freeze." She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Don't make me find a blindfold just so I can get my jacket back." He narrowed his eyes right back.

She turned, slowly raising each of her legs and crossing her ankles in his lap. They glowered at each other and she replied back with terrible acidity.

"Bite me."

. . .

Unknown to the younger members of the Blitz Team, the command center was not experiencing the same drastic temperature changes as the rest of the climate controlled base. Dr. Toros neglected to pass along this information, instead enjoying the humming computers and the sound of Oscar's snoring. Thus, it was in relative silence and without fanfare that the Hover Cargo crested a ridge and caught sight of the famous trio's old stamping ground, the trees and lawns still bright green without their presence there to breathe them life.

The Zoidian style buildings were still tall and metallic, though now they housed more panels that would shed light for nightwalkers. Sprawling steps and lush landscapes added to the otherworldly aura, and no doubt the new students felt just as they had—on top of the world. They called the University 'Haven City' for a reason.

"This is your stop!" Dr. Toros called from the head of the snail-shaped Hover Cargo. "From here I'm taking this junk heap to my old lab."

He pulled to a quick stop, disconnecting the intercom as Oscar snorted himself awake. In the lounge, Brad glanced over at Jamie while he shut down the Pilot Stats pages he had been looking at. "Aren't you coming?"

"No," the young aviator replied, teeth chattering. "I want to check out Doc's lab with my dad."

"That dusty old place?" Brad grinned, cuffing the kid behind the head.

"It won't be long before I start applying to colleges."

Brad chortled at Jamie's self-righteous tone before sweeping an arm around his shoulders, dragging him out of the room. "Going to college isn't only about being a techno-geek. I think it's about time I gave you some man lessons."

Already past them, Bit and Leena raced to the front of the base, throwing wide their arms when they felt the glorious sun after so long daring the bitter cold of their dear snail's hallways. A few minutes later, the other two members of their team joined them outside, the younger with a mortified look on his face. Together, the Blitz Team took the first steps into the hallowed realm of knowledge and wild parties, grins spreading across each of their faces for wholly different reasons.

"Leon told me they parked near the mechanical engineering building; I'm going to try and catch them!" Bit shouted, sprinting off in a general eastward direction.

"Did he even look at a map?" Jamie groused, still upset about missing out on the gadget-tour.

"I never fancied myself as a college student; at least, not the Academy type," Brad mused, a contemplative expression on his face before shaking the thoughts away. "What about you, Leena?"

"Never entertained the thought." They stepped now into the main thoroughfare, and bustles of students weaved in and around them. "I just wanted to become accomplished as a Zoids Team, and now I've been concentrating on Class S. It's been a long road, but I'm proud of the three of us."

Brad agreed wholeheartedly, and the strangeness of it caught the young woman's attention, her red hair thrashing about her shoulders as she turned to glare at him.

"You didn't hear a word I said," she griped.

To her right, Jamie muttered a similar sentiment, among other trivialities amongst the Blitz like, "My opinion exists. You guys can't drag me around just because I'm your favorite toy. I have rights!"

And on her other hand, Brad swiveled his focus back to his younger team members, a gleam in his eye. "I'm borrowing Jamie for the day. Go enjoy yourself," he finished, before grabbing the grey-eyed youth by the scruff of the neck and heading off into the crowd.

"Everyone is abandoning me today!" Leena huffed, crossing her arms with a pout. A boy around her age skated past on a long-board, giving her a wide birth. Suddenly illuminated, she struck her palm with a fist. "Bit's unwashed-jacket-cooties."

**. . .**

Dr. Toros and his friend stepped from the blue-shelled base, his palm on the security system locking it down, after finagling a parking spot in the professors' lot. This location provided them quick access to the hidden underground labs he'd spent so much time in as a student, sticking his middle finger up at skin cancer and tans in general. At this time of day, the buildings were open to anyone, and he and the aged Wild Eagle tread the old hallways, the linoleum beneath his feet nostalgically memorable, and the newly painted walls disconcerting.

"I would always get lost trying to find the both of you down here. It's a maze!"

"What's so difficult about left-left-right-left-right-right-left?" The good doctor chortled before sliding open the familiar lab door, opening into a small room laced with electronics. A group of twenty-somethings turned and blinked owlishly from their discussion at the head of the room. "Don't mind me!"

The two men slid casually over into a corner, Toros bending over to unlock a lower cabinet. To distract the students that were obviously eyeing the untold contents of the locker, Oscar brought up the décor. "I see you've patched up the walls."

They turned heads confusedly between each other, not understanding. His friend raised an eyebrow while tossing a padlock onto the counter. "I fixed this place after Laon wrecked it. You were conspicuously missing as I remember."

"That's because I helped trash it. Taught him to throw a good punch, didn't I?"

His face elongating with skepticism, Dr. Toros replied, "I thought you were morose about this whole affair."

"I am. But at that age, you know…" Oscar made a drinking motion with his hand and shrugged his shoulders in a 'what are you going to do' gesture.

He made a 'this is what you do' gesture, and stuck his finger down his throat like a bulimic.

Oscar wove a hand through his jet-black hair and sat dejectedly on an uncluttered portion of table. "Actually, I just truly thought he would get over it."

"Me too," Toros sighed. He faced the dusty space awaiting him, returning to heaving out the contents with a weary torpor. Old machines and test apparatus soon littered the floor around him, where only the friends' logbooks lay reverently on a clean counter. While digging, the doctor set aside a small King Liger model, made in those days more intricate but far less flashy.

Oscar couldn't help but grin in memory, leaping from his position to snatch up the small object. "You two never stopped talking about these figurines."

A spark returned to his narrowed eyes, and Steve turned, repeating the words he'd spoken many times over the years.

_"They're models."_

"And you can admire the craftsmanship later. I've got a better birthday present." Oscar clunked a brown paper bag in front of his two friends, and then pulled up a stool to join them at their lab table.

Laon inched the parcel towards himself, sticking his nose in before pulling back abruptly. "Is this pure ethanol?"

"It's whisky!" The aviator scoffed while pulling out three shot glasses from the inner pocket of his jacket. "Let's toast to another year with Steve walking this planet."

The aforementioned doctoral student looked warily between the two men. "Don't you have a pilot's test tomorrow morning?"

Oscar waved off the comment with a flourish of his hand. "Just a practice session. Nothing the Wild Eagle can't handle."

"Are you still calling yourself that?" Steve and Laon took the shots offered them hesitantly, holding the small cups nervously between their thumb and forefinger.

"I'm just making it easier for the history books." Both men groaned and a wide grin spread across Oscar's face. "Cheers!" The glasses tipped back, they swallowed, and all three coughed.

A few later, and the burn they had initially felt fell to the numbness pervading their mouths. The trio stumbled somewhat drunkenly through campus, intending on finding a party to put their buzzes to use in.

"Isn't that the Fine Arts building? Are we headed the wrong direction?"

Oscar tilted his gaze up to the stars, causing him to blunder into a bench. He raised an arm to something in the heavens then pointed the other towards the mystery building. "East," he said, emphatically.

"I've never even been inside of it," Steve commented, proving they were easily distracted. "Let's check it out."

Steve and Laon provided some trickery with the student access cards that technically should only allow them into engineering buildings at this late hour, outwitting the security system with a few excess gadgets and a long stick. They pulled the same feat on a few classroom doors, and the three troublemakers soon found themselves underneath the campus stage, poking through dusty props.

Laon picked up a strangely decorated hat, placing it on his egg-shaped head. "Guess who I am!"

Deadpan, Steve replied, "Yourself."

"I take offense to that!" The other doctor-in-training grabbed the nearest object, a rubber javelin, and threw it mightily. Steve squealed and ducked, causing the metal thunder-sheets hanging behind him to be struck and vibrate ominously.

"Hey, who's there?"

The three men swiveled in surprise, focusing in on the flashlight sweeping down the set of stairs they had previously traversed. "Run, run!" Oscar whispered, shoving his friends forward to an adjoining room. He turned back to gallantly save the half-empty bottle of whisky and caught sight of two cops entering the room.

"Stop right there!"

The aviator nearly leapt out of his skin, chasing after the two doctors he'd sent ahead. The adjoining room merged into a large hallway stretching underneath the building like a large basement, locked doors sitting a few feet apart and housing any number of practice rooms or years-old trinkets. At the end of the hallway, his two friends were waiting impatiently for an elevator to reach them. Focusing solely on them, he nearly barreled over a female who was in the process of exiting one of the smaller rooms.

He swung around her, performing a 'surprisingly well-done pirouette' as she would tell him in the years to come. As it was, he thunked his head rather hard against the door behind her and fell dizzily to the floor. The woman took one look at the paper bag in his hand and the two men staring wide-eyed at her from the end of the hallway, and quickly perceived the situation.

She rolled light eyes long-sufferingly and jerked a thumb towards the room behind her. Sheepishly, Steve and Laon jogged over and dragged their friend into the darkened room. Inside, it smelled of oil; either grease or an oil-based paint. The strong odor wrested Oscar back into the world of the living, and he sat up in time to watch her nearly close the door.

As she swept by the crack allowing them sight, disdainfully muttering, "Boys," they caught a glimpse of her ethereal skin and the flow of her red hair before she disappeared. Her voice drifted down the corridor, soon fading as she led the cops away.

"If angels exist…" Laon started, his mouth hanging open.

"They surely wouldn't visit us sinners," Oscar continued.

"Save your one-liners for the West side of campus, hotshot," Steve finished, wrapping an arm around his friend's back while surreptitiously stealing the bottle of whisky. "Let's go. We've got some ground to cover before our lady-friend retires from her post."

Soon, they met the cool night air again, sneaking discreetly across the lawn and towards the Central Library's grand staircase. Oscar and Steve stumbled and giggled like schoolgirls, but their good friend Laon appeared lost on cloud nine. They intended no more mischief, but historic data lobbied against them. At least the pigs were off of their scent.

"You think she's that girl in our Home Ec. class?"

—

Moons later, in an odd sort of way, history repeated itself.

"Rate her. Give her a rating, Jamie." The mercenary swiveled his head to pressure the youngest member of their team into answering. They both sat on the large, marble stairs that lead up to the campus library. Brad's banded arms were hanging over his knees, and he wiggled his fingers. "One through ten."

Jamie blushed, but finally stuttered, "Six, I guess."

"Only a six? Take a look at those legs!"

"She's taller than me."

Brad sighed, and shook his head. "They're all taller than you, kid, they're hot college chicks."

Jamie blushed again and intentionally looked at his grey shoes. "Is this really necessary?"

"Yes it is, because at this rate, I'm going to have to rent you a man-card from this library."

Jamie frowned at the needling he was taking to his ego, and aimed his grey eyes at the pilot-for-hire. "This game objectifies women. Naomi would snipe you through the head if she got wind of this."

Brad raised his eyebrows and Jamie smiled back triumphantly. "Naomi knows I'd give her an eleven." The boy and man traded smiles.

Brad cast his eyes back onto the crowd frothing around them, but then a woman with dark orange hair tied up in a bun swept past the two pilots. He pointed her out with a flicker of his eyes. "Now, what about her?" The lady adjusted her dark-rimmed glasses and wiggled her hips as she entered another white columned building. "Do you like the studious type?"

Far above the two pilots, high enough to where their heads looked like similarly shaded dots on a tapestry of white and green, the team's only female sat upon the roof of the architecture building, lost in thought. Leena's feet dangled over the edge into empty space, and she watched her similarly aged peers in their Academy outfits walk to classes far below her. "That would have been my life if we hadn't made it to S class," she mused.

"At least you wouldn't have been that janitor."

Shocked over being overheard, she swiveled around only to see Bit plop down next to her. "You wouldn't have been a janitor."

"Yeah, I still would have been the best Zoid warrior in the world." The blonde grinned and glanced over the side just to feel that quicksilver thrill of adrenaline while his teammate giggled and swung her legs back and forth. "You would not believe how many autographs I've signed. Five million."

She snorted. "You mean…eight."

Bit wrinkled his nose in thought. "Maybe eight million."

Leena tilted her head back and half rolled her eyes at him. While her vision was obscured in this manner, Bit leapt up and, gripping her shoulders, gave her a shove forward. She quickly grasped the rooftop in shock, but he had already stopped her momentum.

He rested his forehead against her shoulder as he chuckled, and she flew into one of her rages. When his humor finally faded she responded with the most colorful insult her mind could come up with. He seemed to find it immensely amusing.

"Leon and I are going to check out the Academy stadium." His fingers trailed from her shoulder to an elbow, pulling them both to standing. "You better come too, you suicidal freak."

She heaved a sigh but smiled good-naturedly as they both headed to the exit. The two slid through passageways and staircases labeled 'personnel only' before arriving at the ground level feeling thoroughly rebellious. Now, however, they were in public, and students began to whisper and point.

"You wouldn't be this famous if these people had to deal with you on a daily basis."

"Ditto to you, except men would run in the other direction." In response, she punched him solidly in the side and he stumbled plaintively.

"You're sure this is the right way to the Arena?"

Bit shrugged. "We'll get there eventually." A gaggle of girls appeared around a bend, and he raised a hand to wave. "Hey look, fangirls."

With a groan, she curled her fingers into the hem of his sleeve and yanked him through a gap in the walls, aiming for less trodden paths. A certain blonde's swollen ego was not something she felt like dealing with. Together, they found an old stone walkway lined with pillars; their footsteps echoed and not even the wind found its way in to ruffle Leena's skirt. "This whole place reminds me of a mausoleum."

He jolted in surprise, and his eyes flicked left to study her neutral expression. She belied nothing, but he had his guesses. "So we'll be grave robbers. Make our own adventures." He reached over to ruffle her hair, and she squawked while slapping his hand away. "Live in the present, Leena. It's more fun."

She turned her head to meet his green eyes, giving him a rare thoughtful look while running a hand through her hair to remove the knots he'd created. Suddenly, he flashed her a smile and sprinted forward.

"Last one to the Arena has to do the dishes."

"Bit!" With no choice but to follow, she ran after. "I'm not falling for that—it's your turn!" He only laughed and ran faster, bracing his hand against a pillar to make a quick ninety-degree turn. "Wait! Look."

Ceasing to hear her footsteps behind him, he stilled and glanced back. Leena, having reached the same pole he had just whirled around, had her fingers pressed to the worn stone, her mouth shaping silent words.

When arriving to peer over her shoulder, she said, "It's my mother."

He watched her trace the heart encircling her parents' names, then follow an arrow down to a jagged etching. "Steve is a frilly-head," he read with a note of astonishment. "What is a frilly-head?"

"I assume something like a doily-face." She jiggled her head back and forth as if that were explanation enough before leaning back to peer knowingly at him.

His mind boggled, and he repeated his earlier question with more vigor.

_"What is that?"_

"It's a calls to arms." Laon straightened, tossing aside the now blunted carving tool. "It's a statement befitting anyone who has ever been trod upon. It's an anthem for a new era in my life."

"Is it a healthier era? Because I wanted to check out that new burger joint..."

"I am trimming the fat from soul. My Toros fat."

"Referencing Steve to soul fat; I'll write that down. You can use it later to embarrass him."

Laon snorted, picking up the pace in their walk through campus. "He is hardly smart enough to understand the prose and wit of such a fine insult."

Oscar lengthened his strides to keep up, stuffing his hands into his pilot's school jacket. It was a balmy night, but it had always been a smash hit with the ladies. Now he wore it for luck. "Where are we headed in such a rush?"

"The Arena. I challenged Toros to a gentleman's battle."

"And what exactly is that? Zoid figurine chess?"

"They're _models_. And no." Laon glanced down, his dark hair falling into his eyes. "My pride and reputation is on the line. A fight can win it back."

Oscar thought of saying _You can't win her_, but realized that Laon probably understood that better than anyone. So, the aviator let the two of them lapse into silence, for they knew each other well enough for that not to be awkward. On the horizon, the bulb of the arena glowed faintly against the backdrop of a twinkling night sky. Zi's second moon was new, leaving the pathway through the fields dim and treacherous. When arriving at the front entrance however, the shadows were a friend, and their lumbering scale of the iron gates went unseen. From there, it was only a walk through a musty smelling concrete tunnel, and they'd reached the arena turf. The green grass was damp with dew or sprinkler remnants, and in the center, bathed in a halo of light, sat his friend Steve.

Upon seeing them, the brunette stood suddenly, eyes flickering between his two best friends. "Laon, I haven't seen you in weeks."

"Sabbatical."

The egg-headed man strode forward, grasping Steve by the forearm in a firm handshake. Then, with his left hand, he delivered a ruthless undercut to Steve's jaw. The brunette fell comically backwards into the grass, blinking hazily. Laon's head swam into his vision, blocking out the light.

"Toros, consider this the end of a beautiful friendship." Their dark eyes connected, and an eons worth of memories passed between them. "Is it worth this to you?"

"You might as well question why we breathe." Eyes flashed, and Steve rolled from his prone position on the ground, knocking into Laon's knees and sending both sprawling. General fisticuffs and inelegant struggling ensued; Oscar rooting for each of his friends in turn whenever they lost the advantage. Eventually a stalemate was reached, both men locked with arms at the other's shoulders, frozen in a shoving match leading nowhere.

They growled and bore their teeth, and Laon raised a leg to kick at his enemy's shins. Stumbling back, Steve thrust his hands forward, smashing his newfound rival into the ground. Their ragged breaths filled the space between them, the heavy sound signaling the end of the match. Laon sat up, holding a hand to his head, an angry blush coloring his cheeks, and his eyes narrowed in a soon-to-be common glare.

Damp grass, stale sweat, and a roofless dome spreading their echoes out into an inky night. In this moment, well-traversed bridges long ago made intricate finally burned without discretion. "Next time we meet, you'll wish we hadn't." Steve watched Laon slowly rise, then turn and limp down the field; the image of the dark, billowing overcoat engrained in his mind. He never said a word to stop him.

Dr. Toros wouldn't see his friend again for many years after the birth of his children, and only then as a shadow on a faraway hill, visiting their love's grave on the third anniversary of her death.

. . .

Leena swept her red hair over her shoulder and settled onto the warm metal seats of the bleachers in the stadium. The Arena was empty, however, she could see a trickle of students heading their way across the fields, and she knew that news would spread fast. _The Ultimate X and Wild Liger were going to battle._

Her violet eyes swept down through the stands and over the oblong court covered in false green grass until she focused on her brother and the blonde trading jibes from their perch on the jaws of their Ligers.

She tilted her head, needing a bit of rephrasing. _Leon and Bit were going to have a swordfight because they were overdosing testosterone-junkies._

She leaned over the railing. "Go, Leon!"

Both boys glanced at the young woman laughing at them and then clambered into their seats. As the white Liger enclosed Bit in his restraints, Leon popped onto his comm-link with a joking smirk. "If you win, maybe I'll let you win fair lady's hand."

"Oh, like I haven't heard that one before."

Bit had chosen to use the Schneider armor because of a bizarre desire to cross blades with his red rival. Leon appeared to have taken an unhealthy amount of pleasure in the idea as well, and flicked his dark blue blades out and in, like a man playing with his pocketknife.

"On…go?" Leon asked, even as he switched off the image of Bit in the bottom left corner of his vision. He wanted to watch the guy's face sag when he beat him…however, until then a running video would be too distracting.

"I was under the impression Leena was calling the match."

"Ah, yes."

Both Liger's tilted their heads almost imperceptibly towards the redhead, but she saw their signal. Leena pulled a small black pendant she'd commandeered out of her boot, then waved it in the air prettily. With a wink, she dropped it, and it drifted…ever so slowly…to the ground. _There._

The Schneider let loose a roar, and the red Liger answered, then they leapt towards each other with a spray of dirt. Their blades crossed, claws scrambling for purchase in the turf, then they pushed each other apart. Again, at a different angle, and the Schneider snapped at Leon's leg, and the wild Liger was just able to stumble out of the way.

Again: they coiled and sprung and twisted in a slippery battle, winding like two angry snakes. Again.

As they clashed, Leon thought back to a conversation he'd had with Jamie about this rivalry.

_"Bit fights with passion. To defeat him, all I need is a technical plan—he could never recognize it until too late."_

Jamie had appeared hesitant and replied with a question in his voice._ "He would throw a wrench in it before you were halfway through. They have too many cards in their sleeves to be predictable."_

And Jamie had been right. Leon had been trying to lead the Liger Zero into an angle where the sun could possibly blind its pilot, but Bit jumped around too much to be easily swiveled. All right then, time for Plan 2, whatever that was.

As Leon skidded off to his left, Bit growled in annoyance. At this rate, neither of them would ever get a hit on each other. However, then, there, _I've got you_, Leon hesitated and the blonde warrior didn't. He activated the Schneider's boosters and leapt for the prone neck of the Red Liger. Leon, of course, noticed and moved to dodge, so Bit ducked around an errant blue blade and went for the larger target—the body itself. As Leon twisted to get further away he would run right into…

But the Red Liger didn't continue escaping. It took a quick step back, and Bit heard a distant alarm sound as the bright orange armor was sheared from the Schneider's left shoulder.

"A double edged blade, I thought you knew?" The brunette smirked.

Not one to be outdone, Bit flicked on his energy shield, automatically blasting the Red Liger with a current of power, and it crumpled onto its side. He took another hit to the same limb—the Schneider's ankle now sparking—before he was able to get a few of his mane blades into the enemy's hindquarters. Then both Ligers swiftly detached, wounded and calculating.

From the haven of their cockpits, both warring camps were unable to hear the wild cheering and shouts coming from the audience they had gathered. The female Gunsniper pilot was privy to it all, however, and could make out what appeared to be a crowd in favor of her brother. It probably had something to do with him being the underdog. _Or undercat?_

Tucking an errant lock of red hair behind her ear, Leena continued to lean over the railing and watched with avid interest as Bit snapped all of his blades forward in a ferocious seven-bladed Buster Slash attack.

She propped her chin in her hand. Even from here, she noticed her brother's lack of tactics, and easily deduced that he was just running around trying to save his own skin. She could also tell that Bit was deep into Serious Mode; a mood she didn't see often but knew well. Inexplicably, a mood that also made her feel girly.

The Schneider zeroed in for another strike, but the Blade Liger avoided it, swiveling around the Buster Slash. This attack had defeated Leon before, and he knew he could not face it head on. However, Bit failed to notice that by using all of his blades in a full-frontal assault, he left his six wide open for a well-placed blue blade.

The only problem was actually getting behind him.

So far, Leon had been lucky enough to escape the powerful blade attack because of the Schneider's mangled paw. Bit was forced to make up for the lack of dexterity by using his left booster, but he was still handicapped.

Thus, the next time Bit lunged at him with all seven blades charged and ready to maim him, Leon dodged only to dive inward, trying to force the blonde into a jump that the Schneider's left leg couldn't handle.

The tactic worked, and the red Liger head-butted the Ultimate X so jarringly that his teeth ached. As Bit toppled, a fall that would surely spell disaster, he threw a desperate paw into the air, raking along the wild Liger's jawline and almost ripping off the vents in his mane.

Static screamed in both of their comm-links for a long minute, giving Bit enough time to get the Schneider back onto its feet. He discharged his blades. "Well, it looks like I'm going to have to defeat you the old fashioned way."

"I'd like to see you try, kid." Leon grimaced, and both Zoids backed away, eyeing each other as the dust curled at their ankles. The crowd cheered. One heartbeat.

"Strike! Laser! CLAW!"

With a resounding yell both Liger pilots launched themselves upwards. The heat from the sun shimmered the air between them, but their glowing claws were unmissable. In the next moment, they would have a victor. Finally their rivalry would culminate.

Both pilots smirked, and the Ligers roared. And then they all hit an invisible wall and fell flat onto their backs.

Bit and Leon shared a wide-eyed look of surprise, and then glanced forward. The blue shell of the Hover Cargo blinked into existence with a small hum. "Do you like my new cloaking device?" Dr. Toros smiled happily and Bit groaned.

"You ended the battle early!"

"And you're ruining the arena turf."

The good doctor shrugged and opened the hangar doors for the Liger Zero Schneider to stalk into. "I didn't see either of you there. I was having too much fun!"

Bit shook his head as he ejected from the pilot chair. "At least tell me you fixed the climate control before you bought an image inducer."

The brunette father glanced from side to side in mock innocence. "It's very likely that I was adjusting the temperature the entire time via my personal computer."

Leon immediately burst into laughter, and it boomed because it mixed with his dissipating adrenaline, "Dad, I should have known you were only here for the gadgets."

. . .

_Next time on Zoids:_

_"As the once renowned Captain Stigma Stoller of the infamous Backdraft organization, it is with a hint of chagrin that I tell you that Captain Sanders and I have fallen to mercenary work. However, it is a just sacrifice to remain free; and freedom grants honor and dignity. Or, rather, it should. Next time on Zoids: an interlude—Stoller and Sanders. In which we find ourselves skulking around in alleyways and rock formations. Ready? Fight!"_

* * *

><p><strong>You <strong>may be wondering why Stoller and Sanders are going to take up an entire episode of time. Next chapter is a super nod towards the finale (only ten chapters left!), and they do important things!

If Dr. Toros named the Hover Cargo, like someone naming their car, what would he name it? In my soul I feel like he would name the snail Hestia. I can't seem to get it out of my brain that the Hover Cargo is female and her name is Hestia. What do you think? What would you name it?

Brad and Jamie were not at the battle; I'm guessing they made it to some sorority party.

Chapter was looking short, so I decided to add in a history piece. When first beginning this fic, I was fairly adamant with myself with not creating too much into the character's histories, because I felt that was the actual show's territory. However, after the last chapter's reveal was taken as more of a comedy, I thought the famous trio deserved an ode. This chapter actually works well in conjunction with the last, allowing that. The real reason I felt encouraged to include historic segments was because of Gojiralee's interest in the trio's backstory. This is why I love reviews! You guys seriously effect this story, and I don't know if I tell you that enough.

Dr. Toros ended the battle early because he's a jokester, but also because he understands the value of not having a loser. I've realized I was writing him as rather foolish (as I do with the trio) and the last line of this fic is to reflect that. The outer persona is just a fooly-fool who likes playing with Zoid models and wastes money, and that's how everyone enjoys seeing him (even the other characters). But hopefully, the historic segments show there is a lot going on _within_ his character that no one ever sees, except for momentarily in a few season 1 episodes. There's a dual nature to his personality and I wanted to point that out.

**Reviews: **I got my first exclamation mark from Gojiralee! Great success! ! ! ! All of you probably do not read my reviews with the same zeal I do, so you might not know that Gojiralee is always very composed in reviews. Complete sentences, proper grammar. Gojiralee, you may have just been having an exclamation mark kind of day, but I was quite giddy for many hours after reading your comment. Randomcat23, thank you so much for the compliment :) And I see both of you were off-put by the circuit sex bhahaha. You and the new reviewer, TheDragooner, both commented about Brad/Naomi...expect a mini-arc about them in eps 18, 19, and 20. And...new reviewer! Plus new alert and fave...thank you so much TheDragooner! I hope you enjoy this chapter, and enjoy the future Br/N. I love that you've read 15 chapters in two days hahaha you're awesome for that.

* Anyone reading this, know that Gojiralee and Randomcat23 have posted fics in the archives fairly recently!

Another comment I want to make, based on Dragoon's statement about NC0 having too many cliffhangers. They do. I'm wrapping up a lot in this fic, but also intentionally starting others. I wanted to leave hints and clues and sentences all around that wouldn't necessarily wrap up neatly in the finale, but stick around in the back of your skull as ideas for what the characters would get up to after this fic/in the third (never to be written) season. The 'frozen wastelands of Northern Zi' is one such statement. I think that could be an interesting plot device, but it's not being included in this season 2.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own NC0. The Academy and Arena in general are based on random universities mixed together in my head. And I'm pretty sure the Hover Cargo has a climate control system?

I like how I condone drinking, running from the police, and criminal trespassing in this chapter -_- I hope there are no young impressionable children reading this.

And favorite part...it has to be Laon's explanation: "It's a calls to arms..." I think it's a great speech. I hope y'all liked the history segments! And how I melded them in, that was a lot of fun on my part. I picture it like a continuous camera-take in a movie; like the camera pans away, and when it pans back the entire scene has changed.


	17. Episode 17

Episode Seventeen

_An Interlude—Stoller and Sanders_

_"Put their pride on the line…"_

The wind was bitter at night in this part of Zi, and many men who had opted to avoid it (and their wives) were busy making a boisterous mess of themselves in a local bar. It was aptly named the Lion's Lament and tonight all draft beer was half off.

This was fantastic news in Sanders' opinion. He adjusted his green hoodie and picked up the two pints from the grimy counter and carried them to the circular table Stoller had claimed. The Captain was dressed inexplicably nicely, in a button up white shirt and slacks. Sanders attributed this inability to loosen up to the rigid lifestyle the man had probably led while in the employ of the Backdraft.

"Have you watched the news lately?" The silver-haired man asked genteelly while grasping the handle of his beer mug.

"I leave that sort of thing to you." Sanders grinned and adjusted his bulk onto the small bar stool. He was a tall man who spent a lot of time doing muscular exercises, and because of this, he and small spaces conjoined with precarious balancing didn't get along well.

Stigma shook his head in dissatisfaction and Sanders grimaced. "How goes your luck with the job hunt?"

"You know how the economy is after a big Zoid tournament. Everybody's getting fired."

Stoller nodded understandingly. "Similar on my front, especially with the twists my tongue has to make to explain what I've been doing the last few decades." Both men sipped their beers in silence and a muted broadcast held Sanders' attention until Stoller broached a new topic. "Have you entertained the mercenary discussion we had last week?"

"I have." The brunette glanced out of the window to their left and watched saplings bend in the gale. "I was under the impression you were against it?"

"You must be your own man."

Sanders shook his head with a note of finality. "You will always be my captain."

"We are equals now."

The young man gripped his mug tighter and leaned forward to whisper aggressively. "You're one of the greatest pilots alive. Don't say that."

"Regardless of your high opinions of myself, Sanders, I've given up piloting."

"Yeah, that's what you said _before_ you met Bit Cloud."

Stoller raised a silvery eyebrow and the young pilot shrugged while downing a few more gulps of alcohol. "The Elephander is a supreme Zoid, you and it should not go to waste." Stoller grimaced but continued, "You should become a pilot-for-hire. At least for the practice."

Sanders eyes twinkled as he set his mug down. "Captain, you're endorsing me?" Stoller didn't respond, instead staring resolutely at the newscast. "For my merc' tattoos, I was thinking double S's on the back of my hands."

Stoller finished the last of his beer, gave his underling a pointed look, and left the bar. Sanders couldn't help but smile triumphantly as he followed the man outside, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his shirt.

"Just think, as a team, we'd be famous in the underground."

Stoller quirked another eyebrow as the wind beat against him. The captain and the young private swooped into a small alleyway to escape the wild howling and continue their conversation. "We _were_ famous in the underground. Then we left it to leave honorable lives."

The taller man looked down on his captain with an easy sweep of his eyes. "I promise, I won't accept—"

His words were cut short as a grappling hook fell from the sky and wrapped around his torso. Both men's eyes widened, and Sanders had the privilege of seeing the captain truly shocked, then he was swung upward into the sky.

Forced into action, Stoller snatched the pistol he always kept on a harness underneath his shirt, and aimed upwards at the elevating helicopter. He fired once, but it bounced harmlessly off the undercarriage. "Dark Nyx," he cursed, and watched it carry away his protégé.

. . .

It was a dark and windy night. A night that expected you to stay at home with your children and share familial stories around a fireplace and roast marshmallows or something else equally nauseating. It expected you to have on thick socks to keep your toes warm and share an invisible blanket of contentment and happiness. There shouldn't be worry. There shouldn't be a feeling of dread. Control should not be slipping through the once unshakable but now shaking fingers of the giants of this world.

A wise man once said, no matter how much the wind howls, the mountain does not bow to it.

The pilot of the helicopter steered sharply through the buffeting storm, the corkscrew pitch of his blades flying him straight while the Magnesser system kept him afloat, riding magnetic thermals. The pilot had turned off anything that blinked, anything that would alert the two men below that he stalked them. He rode in the darkness of the sky and thought it fitting that he was uncomfortable.

He had a mission for them, something he wished he didn't have to resort to. A desperate ploy, like a dagger against a sword. How had he failed Zi so?

The former Backdraft pilots ran into the cover of an alleyway, and he let the aircraft dip. Switching off his blades, he weakened the magnetic system until he survived on a wink and a breath. He activated a tracking system, aiming for either of the two and listening with a sinking heart as it pinged with connection. He hovered his hand over the button that would deploy the claw.

It was a shot in the dark. Metaphorically, even more so. If he captured one of these men, he would set into motion a series of events that ended only in hope. How sad that he could be cornered into having no other choice.

Behold, Act Two, The Mountain Bends.

He pressed the button.

. . .

Noonday was fitful at best. The clouds still filled the swaths of sky and cast a dull pallor on the grunge. Stigma Stoller felt similarly, and had stridden like a flutist in a death march to a backwater Zoids shop in which he was now staring down the sole owner.

The man looked down at Stoller's pilot's license as he keyed in the values along the mysteriously broken metallic strip usually used for quick swipes. He looked up warily. "Your name is Dante Grey? And you're a pilot."

"Yes." Stoller didn't bother explaining himself, and looked back at the man with little amusement.

"You're also not in the system. But you've been piloting Zoids for decades." The man's voice was dry with disbelief, but just enough laxity bled into his speech to key Stoller onto the fact that he would probably succeed after a few more straight-faced lies.

"Transporters. Hence the Gustav. So, no, I wouldn't be in the Battle Net."

There was a long moment where both men eyed each other—Stigma, blandly, and the owner as if he were weighing Stigma's evils. Finally, with a huff, he passed back the fake license and walked off to get the activation card for the rentable Gustav. However, not without leaving Stoller a suspicious glance.

The Backdraft pilot continued to let no emotion cross his face. Nervousness would have given him away in a moment, but after this many years spent controlling every action and reaction, such a weakness didn't even register in his brain, much less flit across his features.

The Gustav rumbled, and Stoller watched the deskman leap into the bug's head and start typing in passcodes.

Even if he wasn't nervous, Stoller was feeling legitimately wary. Not for his own fate at a rundown Rent-A-Zoid, but for the mission he and Sanders had opportunely been graced with. Even more disquieting, the mysterious helicopter pilot had known who they really were and seemed to find that advantageous. It didn't bode well.

The owner leapt out and handed him the activation card, and Stoller quickly paid and left with the yellow Gustav. Of course, he was lying when he implied he'd never battled in a Zoid, but he'd also lied when he said he'd driven a transport type before. What a drag. Regardless, he had chosen it because it had the best speed to weight ratio, and if needed, could also carry the Elephander along with their mysterious cargo.

Now, far enough away, Stoller radioed Sanders, "Do you have the coordinates?" The strong young man quickly answered with a grin.

"I do. It appears a swath of Iguans are currently protecting our quarry. And the crates are way too large for the Elephander to carry. How soon can you get here, Captain?"

"Not with any sort of haste, that's for certain."

"I'm going to move in. They'll be shipping within the hour, and I don't want to risk our best opportunity."

"Go ahead. And Sanders?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Don't do voice activated piloting. Something smells fishy about this operation."

"That's probably your upholstery."

. . .

Judy shook her hair out then retied it up in her trademark ponytail. She used her Iguan to lift one of the apparently classified crates and place it carefully on one of the carriage compartments that would later be covered and harnessed to avoid prying eyes.

Judy had never been on a classified op before, and she had originally been overwhelmingly excited. Control usually saved these black projects for other secret pilots that she assumed existed. At least, she had been led to believe they existed, because Beck, the treasurer, said bits of money were always being spirited away from beneath his nose with clandestine reasons. She doubted anyone in the rest of the bureaucracy would have known about this transport even existing if her and Beck and the others in their division hadn't been tasked with it. At least Beck and his conspiracy theories had proof now.

She bent to pick another crate, but the hairs on the back of her neck stood up with a sudden uncanny shiver. This was a bad omen. She stood upright quickly, glancing left and right with suspicion coiling in her gut. Yes, someone was definitely watching her. Someone with ill intent. But Judy didn't have the chance to dread much longer, because Beck screamed in her ear and her Zoid went flying.

Sanders extracted the sword in the Elephander's trunk and swung toward another Iguan. He had opted to keep the Elephander in Stoller's customized form—as a crossbreed between the Assault and Command configurations. The replacement of the back-mounted beam cannons with Gatling guns reduced his firepower, but it kept the Elephander much more equipped for fighting a horde of beasts such as this.

Sanders fired a rocket from the Elephander's left ear, watching it hit a group further away and explode in a cloud of smoke and metal. The chaos he caused by periodically launching them was a great advantage. Even though an individual Iguan was an average Zoid, they were versatile, and were designed to take down larger Zoids when fighting in a group. He was hoping to keep them distracted long enough to cut a majority down before they could mount a counterassault.

"Fire!"

A line of camouflage colored iguanodons let loose a series of rockets from their impact guns—and Sanders could hear the four singular bullets of the first Iguan's launch before the rest of the line followed suit in a cacophony of sound and ammo.

As fast as he was able, he switched the ESCS unit to its energy shield form and lay his trunk on the ground, watching with bated breath as the pink shield crackled into life just in time to stop the first wave of bullets. The left end of the Iguan line was too angled to block however, and those impact shells crashed into the side of the Elephander in a fiery explosion, knocking out the mounted rocket launcher.

"Smart. But you're lined up like pins, and I always go for the strike." Aiming forward with the Gatling guns, he mowed down the line of them until they were forced to scatter. Then he deactivated the shield, powered up his energy sword, and went back to trumpeting through the ZBC's forces. Even if he was feeling a little guilty for being on a rampage, at least the Elephander seemed to be enjoying it.

Just as he had raised a titan leg to squash a fallen Iguan, a pulsed beam to his foreleg knocked him sideways, and in the precious seconds it took for him to balance himself, the Iguan rolled away and he failed to see who had shot him. "Chaos, Sanders, chaos." He threw his weight around, knocking down two that were trying to climb him, and batting away a third with his trunk. Because of his missing rocket launcher, he had obviously given someone enough time to get into a sniping position, and he groused at himself for his complacency.

He moved the Elephander into its (quite hilarious) running gait, and moved to where he could push his back up against the wall of armored crates. _Hopefully I'm out of shooting range here._ Sanders glanced up and around, looking for any solitary Iguans, even as he offhandedly sliced through the body of an assailant.

Then an Iguan leapt onto his back and Sanders was distracted by having to swing his trunk around to try and get it off. His SATphone began vibrating in his pocket, and thinking it was Stoller, he hastily grabbed it and jammed it into the spot between his shoulder and ear before getting back to piloting. "Yikes!" He shouted as a pulse of the Iguan's beam cannon hit the Elephander's spine and made the beast tremor.

"Sanders…what exactly are you doing?"

Stoller's voice had taken on an overly feminine tone, and a blank look of surprise flitted across Sanders' face. Another pulsed shot hit another vertebrae, and even as the thick armor repelled a majority of the energy, he could see a side screen starting to blink yellow.

"I'm…I'm…who is this?"

An exasperated sigh that sounded an awful lot like '_Men'_ graced his ears before the woman answered. "Pierce. Have you really met _that many more_ women?"

"I'm just a tad bit distracted right now, Pierce."

"I can see that."

Sanders took a moment to try and knock the Iguan off by slamming backward into the crate wall. It clung onto him with a keen and scrabbled with its claws, hanging on by a thread. "Stupid Gatling guns, aim backward," he muttered, then raised an eyebrow in thought. "Did you shoot me?"

"I knew you could handle it."

"Well why don't you do something helpful and shoot this Iguan off my back?"

"Come where I can see you, and maybe I'll be so inclined."

Sanders stumbled forward with his unwanted cargo, trampling a few other unfortunate Iguans, and watched with satisfaction as the infamous Iguan that had almost bested him toppled sideways into the dirt. He heard the discharge of the gun like a hiss in his ear and felt a smirk inch across his face as he thought of the leather-clad aviator staring down her scope at him.

"Gratitude, gratitude."

"Thank you, Pierce. I owe you a beer."

"That you do."

The battle had basically died down by this point, and the Elephander let out a trumpet of victory. If the captain was anywhere near, he would hear it. "Now, to what do I owe your stalking me?"

Pierce snorted and clicked the safety on her lightrifle, settling into a more comfortable position on her ledge. "I was getting information about the shipment. According to Polta, it's something to be curious about."

"Learn anything?"

She shrugged. "The only thing off about it is the ZBC took a lot of trouble to get it here with a group of Dark Iguans before leaving it with this lot. Seems counterproductive."

Sanders grunted, distracting himself for a moment with reading a few of the warnings that had popped up about the Elephander's back. It could handle it though—it was a tough Zoid. "So, Polta, eh? I never liked that snarky bastard."

Pierce tapped a finger against the SATphone and it was a drum in Sanders' ear. "That rat-faced freak. I don't know how he found me," she ran a tired hand through her teal hair, "but now that you've thrown a wrench into things, he'll probably forget all about this."

"Gratitude, my dear."

She laughed loudly and he released a breath as he relaxed into the pilot's chair, releasing his restraints with a click. "Don't get cheeky, Sanders, you still owe me that drink."

He didn't respond, though he was probably grinning, and she spied a yellow Gustav approaching from the distance. "Well, it looks like it's about time for me and this untraceable cashcard to get lost," she said. The Gustav stopped next to the Elephander and when Sanders next responded he sounded distracted. "See you around, Pierce."

"Yeah. Tell the Captain I said hi."

**. . .**

Stoller ground the Gustav to a halt, and Sanders leapt from the cockpit of the Elephander to unlock the latches that were currently holding the crates and camouflaging tarps to the wood lice's cargo platforms.

"This is the spot? It's the middle of nowhere."

"Actually, its 36 by 42 in nowhere. And unless your dyslexic, we're exactly where the helicopter hellion told us to be."

Sanders flung the sand colored tarps onto the ground, and if he hadn't known he'd put them there, he would have lost the apparently much-too-expertly-woven cloth. He pulled a corner underneath his foot just in case. "Now we wait?"

"Take the crates off my back. They can be delivered anonymously."

Sanders shrugged, but climbed back into his Zoid and began moving the crates onto the desert floor with his trunk. They were heavy, but not so heavy that the might of an elephant couldn't shift them. Thinking back to Stoller's strange hesitation, Sanders questioned him with an internal smirk, "Scared, Captain?"

Stoller grunted in an annoyance interlaced with unadulterated surprise, and Sanders had to turn off the comm-link so his captain wouldn't hear him chortling. He again leapt from the Elephander to gather the tarps without entangling his Zoid's head_—_a feat that had already occurred earlier in the day...and once was certainly mortifying enough.

After bundling the first into his arms, Sanders began looking around for the second. Now, he was certain he'd placed them just next to each other...

Then, befitting his moment of confusion, he suddenly found himself airborne. There was one blessed moment where he was staring straight up at the grey sky, at a cloud layer so dense he was unsure if he was facing down or up, and then he landed on his back with a loud "_Ooof!_"

He heard a hiss to his left, but a louder one rang from near his feet, so Sanders leaned up on his elbows so he could see over the mound of tarp still bundled in his arms. Another hiss. A Viper.

And by 'Viper', he meant 'Stealth Viper', not 'tiny snake viper' that would probably have poisoned him by now. However, looking up at the enraged Zoid was almost enough of an incentive to hope for chances against the venomous IV drip of a fang.

As Sanders scrambled to his feet to try and make the jump to his Elephander, the Viper lurched into his pathway and sent up a wave of sand. Only then did the former Backdraft pilot note his missing sand colored tarp tightening in knots around the unfortunate furtive Zoid. The pilot must have been trying to sneak up on him from underground, a Stealth Viper's specialty, before trying to charge through a layer of dirt that wasn't quite dirt. If best laid plans often went awry, then what of unintentionally laid plans? Since when was _he_ lucky?

Sanders took a moment to weigh his chances, like any other respectable Zoid pilot, and came to the conclusion that the two Stealth Vipers hadn't realized that Stoller was hidden in the unmoving Gustav. It was, technically, insensible to leave your best line of defense open for attack while you played housekeeper on the desert floor. So, Sanders pretended to be sensible and shouted at the empty Elephander. "Captain, what are you doing, napping? You should have shot these guys down thirty seconds ago!"

He waited with his hands cupped over his mouth, hoping his bluff wouldn't be called or that they'd decide to use him as some sort of hostage, when a modified Cannon Tortoise finally crept into the battlefield with a few large crates stacked onto its back. They slid off sideways with a thud and the second Stealth Viper slithered behind it, hiding and calculating.

"Stand down!" A gruff sounding man ordered with intended authority, and the Elephander obeyed with unsurprising calmness. Sanders almost chuckled at the Viper Team's relief. The ensnared snake finished it's wriggling and freed itself from Sanders' dastardly trap.

The voice continued. "We will only battle in official Zoid battles."

"How grand," Stoller chuckled to himself within his ignored transporter, "Honor Among Thieves."

The wind chose the perfect time to pick up, and the Elephander's trunk swayed just slightly to the left. This involuntary twitch was just enough to make the Viper Team flinch into submission, prostrating the status quo in favor of escape. Dignity? Bah. "There is no need to shoot us down this time." The pilot placated, and both Vipers slipped halfway into the sand. "We are leaving peacefully."

And with those parting words, the strange torrent of activity ended with a ripple of sand and the shuffling gait of the Tortoise ambling away. Sanders made quick work of the remaining tarp, bundling it into a small compartment on the Gustav's lift, and then scrambled quickly back into his cockpit before Stoller could chastise him.

He grinned cheekily at the silver-haired man who was staring at him unamusedly through the monitor.

"Sanders," he began warningly.

"I wonder what made them so fearful of the Elephander," the green-eyed man interjected, deftly trying to avoid the lecture.

The captain pursed his lips and seemed to say _I'm getting to that_. "What did I tell you about joy riding?"

. . .

Sanders ran back to the rocks after ditching the Elephander in the distance. It and the Gustav were hidden underneath an outcropping of boulders, and covered up with the dirt colored tarps. It appeared, for as regimented as the Captain lived, he had the same dangerous curiosity as the next man.

Sanders slid onto his stomach and bumped shoulders with the similarly battle-suited man. Lucky for them, their suits were shaded dark with few accents, and thus they hid without too much fear of conspicuity in the shadows.

"Time?"

"Fifteen minutes till."

Stoller got a glint in his eye that Sanders had only seen during the captain's battles with the Ultimate X. "A perfect range for you to see what's in those crates."

"What, now? They could be here early!"

"More incentive for you to hurry."

Sanders propped himself up on his elbows. He glanced at Stoller who was focused on the thick cloud layer, then studied the lonely crates sitting placidly and without a care to their unforseen future. "Well, Nyx."

He stood and traipsed down to the shipment, making sure to raise his eyebrows in one last look of blatant shock that Stoller did a fantastic job of ignoring. He pressed his hands against the metal of the lid, which was surprisingly still cool despite its jaunt through the desert, and shoved his quite appreciable bulk against it. It moved just barely, and Sanders was soon huffing like a bull (or a well-trained oxen for a more fitting description) as he inched the thick lid back off of its smuggler's treasure. With a last heave, Sanders opened a gap wide enough to poke his head in.

"Well, double Nyx."

Stoller made some hand gestures that looked like he meant for him to move on, so Sanders leapt to the Viper Team's drop-off. After a similar amount of heaving, Sanders found a cargo heaped cardboard boxes labeled ISBT 128.

"Mouse!"

Sanders jerked in shock at the implementation of their code word, but didn't waste a single other moment before hightailing it back to the captain's position. He slid into the nook between the rocks like a professional baseball player and then ground to a halt on his stomach as if he'd never left.

The adrenaline suddenly coursing through him widened his pupils and almost completely hid the green of his eyes. "What is it? And please don't say an actual mouse."

Stoller pointed upwards and shrunk further into the shadows, his silvery hair taking on a dull grey pallor. "You can see the turbulence from their craft reflected in the clouds." Sanders didn't see quite that much, but gaping jaws and a shark swam from the sky, and he didn't have the time to doubt him.

The Hammerhead's teeth hit the dirt before the line of crates, scooping up sand into its maw before swallowing its package like a school of fish. The sand poured from its jaws as they snapped closed, and Sanders likened it to a true shark of the sea rising from its depths with the blood of its kill dripping in thick rivulets through its fangs.

A chill crept up his spine and his gaze flickered to Stoller who unblinkingly studied the dark vessel before them. Then, with a final groan of its engines, the beast retreated back behind the cloud layer and left both men with uncomfortable pits in their stomach.

**. . .**

"And what made you guess they would swoop out of the clouds?"

Stoller glanced at him in bemusement.

"Is this another one of those 'it comes with experience' things?"

"Actually," Stoller replied, taking a moment to brush the dust from his suit fastidiously, "Just another mundane common sense thing." The elder gentleman made a point of glancing about the flatlands around them. "I was betting against teleportation."

Sanders combed a hand through his hair sheepishly and turned back to his bowl of ramen. It was the saltiest thing he'd eaten in awhile, but he curled his tongue up and choked it down. "Remind me again why you cut up our reward money."

"Because that was Fuma's Hammerhead." He gathered up the last of his noodles and swallowed. "Also, an Ultrasaurus kneecap and buckets of blood."

"There's no way you can be _sure._"

"I go with my hunches. It comes with experience."

"Of course it does." Sanders attempted gulping down the rest of his unappetizing soup but quickly found himself hacking up a lung. "Er, Captain?"

Stoller raised an eyebrow.

"What do you think she's planning on doing with it?"

The former Backdraft Captain donned a pensive look, staring down into the dregs of his cheap ramen as if reading something like a fortuneteller with tealeaves. "Just eat your soup, Sanders. There are starving children."

. . .

_Next time on Zoids:_

_"Leon Toros, from the Red Comets. I completely understand that my little sister is her own woman and is perfectly allowed to get herself in and out of trouble. However, brotherly instincts die hard. When Leena sees a suspicious transaction taking place in a darkened construction site, I thank her lucky stars for her that I was feeling particularly overbearing that night. Perhaps too overbearing, but I'm her brother, what does she expect? Next time on Zoids: An Unexpected Battlefield—zoids vs. Zoids. Talk about seeing red.…Ready? Fight!"_

* * *

><p><strong>At <strong>this point you might think…how is this a chapter in an emotion arc!? The answer is: well, emotional development sort of ties in with character development right? Or character introduction? -_-

Also…in my head…perhaps unwarranted information…Stoller is gay. I couldn't help but think it this whole chapter, but I don't think that train of thought made him OC or anything. But you'll be the judge of that. Pierce is seen at the end of the season sharing drinks with Sanders and Stigma so they know each other. I like to think that she's trying to figure out if Sanders is a reasonable catch or gay as well.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this interlude! Your responses will actually dictate how a future chapter lays out. If you think the Blitz Team really needed to be around, tell me. I had a ton of fun writing these brand new characters and figuring out how they might react and talk to each other when they're not in a battle situation. I think that's why I really like the closing scene. I think it comes across how familiar they are with each other.

And then, of course, the information drops for the finale. Ultrasaurus armor and blood are quite a crazy combination, wouldn't you agree? I hope it creeps you out hahaha. Fuma will be along next chapter to explain it, or creep you out, haven't decided yet :P

Gojiralee and Randomcat23 both mentioned it, less than 10 chapters to go now! It made Gojiralee a little bit sad, randomcat a tad bit excited, and makes me feel like this: AHH! Though I can't wait to write them, and bring them to all of you, and here's to hoping you enjoy them! I hope they live up to expectations.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own NC0. Viper's Team is the team that the Elephander shot down within two seconds of its first battle with the Blitz Team. I did make up the Lion's Lament and Rent-A-Zoid's however! And I'm assuming they have helicopters.

**Reviews: **Best part! And I got 4! And there are a lot of things to be responded to, so this might encompass a few paragraphs. (Summary: ages, chapter lengths, reviews, critiques, character history, next chapter blurbs)

Firstly, TheDragooner, very happy to see you reviewed again, and so quickly! Glad you enjoyed Brad and Jamie, there isn't quite enough of their dynamic! You ask about Jamie's age, which I suppose is a result of Jamie's comment about going to college soon. Originally, I said ages in the early chapters, and then I regretted it, because I think it's better if the reader decides for themselves and just has an age-range in mind. In my head, I realize that I've "aged" them from the show's ages. To me, Jamie is about the age that you would enter high school. In my opinion, in order to pilot a Zoid you should be able to have a driver's license, so he's fifteen? Going on sixteen?

Another thing you said about it not being "too long": this was actually interesting for me to hear, since 16 was a upper-mid-range length chapter (~6500 words). (When I don't count the introductory arc that had much short chapters). I thought about it, and then I suddenly completely understood how you might have felt this way. The entire chapter feels like an introduction, doesn't it? And then suddenly you're in a historic segment that's supposed to be the 'middle' of the chapter and then it's the end. It doesn't really give you that 'middle of a chapter' feel. It feels like I jump from the beginning to the end. I wonder how I could have arranged/wrote the chapter to make it not occur like that. (But thanks for enjoying it anyway!)

Gojiralee, reading a well-constructed review proves to me that you've spent time _thinking_. It means you had to think about the review, which means you thought about my chapter, which means you read it, and the rest of the story, carefully. It's the impression that comes across, and if other writers don't notice it, then shame on them. Your reviews always warm my heart and make me a better writer at the same time. Plus, everyone should know, I read everyone's reviews before I start writing. They are truly inspiration to me. Glad you enjoyed Brad & Jamie as well, they were an interesting pair to write. And super glad you liked Laon! He's such a fantastic character... wild/eccentric/evil/loving/friendly/genius and truly ambiguous about where his loyalties lie (Steve-o-suction would have been a good insult, damn!). About your critique, I re-read the chapter and understand where you're coming from. I should write 'he said/she said' much more often during dialogue instead of/in conjunction with epithets and such. I definitely combed through this chapter hoping to make it clearer, and I hope it worked.

Randomcat23, always happy to see you :) So glad I made you laugh so much! Actually, I should say the characters made you laugh; they really write themselves half the time. You'd like to party with Steve, Oscar, and Laon eh? I think that means when you get older, you'll be a tad crazy :P You also agree with me on Hestia's name I see! Maybe the name will make an appearance now. Now, about history. I'm glad you liked it, and there definitely had to be a balance between how much I gave and how much I kept away. For instance, I didn't want to say specifics on how Ms. Toros died. (And don't include my headcanon from my other NC0 fic, that history isn't true for this one.) I also thought about having a scene where Toros, Oscar, and Laon meet for the first time, but that got scrapped. You all should know, I actually wrote down a backstory down for all the main characters, but I would never include most of those details in this fic. They are to be alluded to and that's it. The show celebrates them for how they are in the present, and not from where they came from in the past. (But I hope to keep you curious by alluding to them!)

Finally, the most recent and newest reviewer, dunge. You make me happy, it's super rare I get four reviews a chapter! Thank you so so much for the compliment, honestly, you all warm my heart. Glad you like my next chapter blurbs! They give me trouble sometimes, because I need a more detailed layout of the new chapter to be able to write a good one. I have to be able to predict my own self, and predict where the characters may take themselves and try and connect that to the plot summaries I wrote months ago! The fun thing about these blurbs though is imagining the characters saying them. That's a lot of fun. Also, the little sentence they say before Ready? Fight! is fun to make up.

**On that note, **next chapter is going to be a BLAST. Brad/Naomi arc starts, Fuma reappears...other things I don't want to give away... :D Hope to see everyone there!


	18. Episode 18

Episode Eighteen

_An Unexpected Battlefield—zoids vs. Zoids_

_"And sharpen their skills against one another,"_

Good thing she wore boots—because the last thing she needed was to lose a shoe and skewer her feet on a pile of nails.

Fire nipped at her heels, and Leena leapt for the temporary shelter the construction workers used during the daytime. The sheet metal provided her momentary relief from the wave of flame before the heat scalded her and she was forced to keep moving. _This is what you get, Leena, for trying to be a hero. Karma at its best._

She ran further, dodging through piles of dirt and lumber, trying to lose the thumping growling laughing fire in the myriad of yellow tape. She skidded, made a quick ninety-degree turn, and was forced to stop so quickly that she fell with a gasp onto her rump. A skeletal raptor looked down on her with its sickening smile, its claws and fangs humming as they charged. _There were two; I forgot there were two._

Leena scrambled to her feet, but she heard the crunch of its twin behind her, and she knew, even as she turned, that she would be staring down the Bio Raptor—mouth agape with its flamethrower tongue.

"I wonder where she thinks she's going."

Leena edged sideways, trying to get out from the middle of the two raptors. "Good question. What exactly are you doing, princess?"

Her back hit the chain link fence she had been aiming for, and her fingers hooked onto one of the metal diamonds hidden behind her. The scared little girl expression fell easily from her face, and in its place grew a triumphant smirk.

She replied with a frightening level of confidence for someone who was about to be burnt to death. "Cornering you."

. . .

The electronic swish of the doors clicked shut behind her as Leena entered the Hover Cargo's lounge. She had spent a good swath of the day realigning the weapons systems to fix her Gunsniper's growing stability problems, and despite the facts that she was tired and cramped, and that the guys had been noticeably lacking from the hangar while they goofed off around the base, Leena was almost giddy with the relief that comes when one completes a hard-won task. So, it was without her usual critical eye to the bantering Jamie and Bit or to the secretive Hunter perched in a corner that she waltzed in and brought the kitchen phone to her ear.

She only heard silence. _Hmm…I didn't open a line while in the hangar, did I?_ As she meditated, she watched as Bit sloppily ate his cereal while Jamie told one of his jokes that nobody understood. Ah, she'd heard that one before. Something about a talking rock. _No, I definitely didn't._

Leena pushed the reset button a few times, but continued to not hear a dial tone. "Now how am I supposed to order ammo?" She exclaimed to the world at large. (Alas, her happiness was forever doomed to be short-lived.) "The phone's dead!"

"It's dead?" Bit called from the lounge. He jogged up the stairs and poked at it with her.

Brad slid from his perch and studied her predicament from a distance. "Check the outlet."

They did some rearranging and the phone line remained unusable. A grin started to spread across Bit's face, and he failed miserably at attempting to swallow it. "I think we're in a scary movie."

Brad, his expression stony and aloof, added, "We'll be picked off, one by one."

"Something has tampered with the brake lines in the jeep and the flashlights must all be dead," Bit continued.

Jamie giggled from the couches, "Leena and Harry will be the only ones left alive."

"Kid, I owe you a few thrown rotten tomatoes for that."

"Oh, and you and Naomi are better sole survivors?"

"As an added bonus, I would finally get some peace and quiet." Brad cupped a hand around his ear and listened to falsified voices. "Hear that? The critics love it."

Bit stuck his tongue out. "Movie code dictates that fornicating couples die early on."

Leena crossed her arms in an attempt to bring the attention back to her and away from where the conversation was leading. "Let's not forget that I already lived through a personal scary movie, and none of these cliché things happened. The phone still worked then, too."

"You're talking about the chainsaw man? I'm sure we had a few scary movie references." The ploy for attention worked, and Bit prodded her in the side. "Otherwise you can't call it a frightening experience anymore."

"Alright, you all fell asleep and left me to my doom. I concede that cliché. The lone heroine, fighting for her life."

Jamie rolled his eyes at her mournful air. "You also had the double twist."

"Whoa it's actually a bunch of thugs. Whoa there apparently _is_ a ghost!"

"I _did_ see the Chainsaw Man's ghost."

"Apparently." Brad replied wryly, proof that this was an argument held many times before.

"Regardless, a ghost wouldn't cut the phone line." Jamie commented. "There must be some new evil afoot."

"So who's my new personal beast? Bit?" She snickered.

"I'm the skeleton in your closet?" Bit pursed his lips, thinking, and the mercenary moved to sit on the back of the curved couch. "Ah, no, I know what fiend I would be! I vill suck your blood!"

Leena tossed her short hair, smiling sweetly. "Oh, if only you were a vampire. All I'd need is a string of garlic to finally be rid of you. Besides," she snuck a glance at their young aviator as he sat with his legs folded underneath him and his chin propped on the backrest of the couch, his eyes sparkling in childlike mirth. "Jamie's the vampire. He stays up all night and flies around searching for prey."

Jamie smiled, glancing up at the tall man next to him. "Then Brad would be a zombie. I could just see you loitering around aimlessly."

Brad shrugged, crossing his banded arms. "Then that leaves Bit with—"

"Pirate!"

"Pirates have nothing to do with scary movies!" Jamie yelped, affronted. Alas, Jamie the fact checker.

"Though it does fit him."

"As I was saying," Brad continued, "it leaves you with ghost."

"Me? A ghost? I have a feeling that would be Leena." Bit threw a sidelong glance towards the female at his side. "Too stubborn to die, that one."

Jamie frowned. "Then, what? Frankenstein's monster?"

Bit shook his head disdainfully. "Didn't it fall in love with the bride? Seems more like a Harry trait." He donned his infamous cocky smirk and leapt into the center of the room, wielding his spoon. "I guess I don't fit with any usual beasts, so that makes me the hero!"

"You don't get to be the hero, I'm the heroine!"

"You already had your time in the limelight, and I remember you screaming like a distressed damsel. _And_ riding to your rescue." Brad stole his spoon from him and gave him a solid whack with it for good measure. "Ow!"

"Riding to my rescue on your shining white stallion were you? It doesn't get much more egotistical than that; perhaps you are the hero."

"I can't fathom what took you so long to realize."

"I suddenly have an urge to test your bottomless pit of bravery, but how?"

The lady made a show of pondering and Jamie flipped through a series of magazines littering their table. "A haunted house?" He finally decided.

"Exquisite idea, Jamie. I'm sure there's one around here somewhere." She sauntered up to Bit and stole his cereal. "How about it, hero? Are you going to lead me through the dark?"

"We'll see, won't we?"

. . .

_ZomBios_ lit up the night like a flickering motel sign in a dirty part of town. Its patrons were grimy, and the backwater look of the consumerist haunted house brought to mind images of psych-ward escapees.

Places like these had an ability to make even the most rational thinkers think twice about entering. So, to prevent the sharp sound of knocking knees from joining the cold sweat already running down his back, Jamie decided to go robot. To go facts. Remove all emotion from the situation.

"Naomi, to your left you'll see the exit, covered in a quintessential layer of fog where the teenage workers are probably lying in wait." He motioned mechanically, and she indulged his adorable version of bravery while Brad walked off to get her a wristband. "Forward, you'll note the makeuped…makeupified… zombie teaser near the ticket booth. As you can see, metal has taken a substantial influence on its outfit."

"It has. It appears quite Zoidian."

"Indeed, ma'am." Brad returned and thrust a chilled bottle of water into one of Jamie's clammy hands. "They have taken the Bio theme very seriously."

"The idea here," the young aviator continued, the cerebral effort slowly warming him back to comfort, "is the people killed during Bio testing never rested in peace. They are…_undead_, if you will. The Bio has taken not just their energy, but their soul, and now it stalks the world searching for its next meal."

"If I was itching for a gun before, now after a speech like that…" Naomi shivered. "Bio's were put out of production awhile back, right?"

"What other reason to treat them like a novelty now?"

"Foreshadowing?"

Jamie squeaked. "Brad, please don't let them eat me."

Then a zombie thrust its face into Naomi's vision, a light in its gaping mouth momentarily blinding her. She shrieked involuntarily, and Brad laughed long and loud as she tried to regain her dignity.

"The best way to keep them away from you," Brad explained, "is to pretend you're bored." Naomi gave him a perturbed look, and he responded with, "that is a bad example of an unimpressed face."

"Since when were you the master of facial expressions?"

"Since Leena the Firecracker became my roommate."

No argument there. The beauty turned on her heel, offering her back as she adjusted her boots higher up her thigh, completely aware that the action made her slightly bend over. "Meet unimpressed," she said, then glanced coyly over her shoulder. She watched Brad swallow thickly and grinned with no small amount of pleasure, then asked, "and precisely what expression is that?"

—

The sextuplet, meaning the six Zoid warriors, had just begun to properly coalesce in the ZomBios courtyard when they were expertly separated by a group of fangirls after Brad of all people. Leena supposed their interest lay in his tattoos and the Shadowfox's stealth, however, these facts were hardly enough to attract her feminine side. Though, that was mostly because over the years she had seen the man at his worst.

Jamie tapped her arm. "I feel bad for Naomi." _Well, of course he did. _The poor girl was stuck standing next to the apparent superstar, unsure whether she was allowed to claim ownership or not.

"Brad needs a lesson in women." Leena gave the boy at her side a knowing look. "And you're going to have to give it to him; he surely won't listen to a word I say."

Jamie held his hands up innocently. "I don't know a thing about you women."

"But you know about men, don't you?" She flicked him in the forehead, and he held a hand to his temple, perturbed. "There's one virtue that all men lose the second they grow out of your age group." She held a finger in the air tellingly. "Honesty."

"Are you saying all men are dishonest?" He raised a dark eyebrow. She waved a hand invitingly as she moved towards a prospective group of males, ready to prove her point. However, moments into her flirtatious act and fantastical life-story, Jamie was able to see the edginess in their gazes and desire to slip away from this overly forward girl. He sighed mournfully for his sometime friend and sometime crush and failed miserably to tug her away as she batted her full eyelashes at some random guy. He walked away, feeling a little dejected.

Leena, on the other hand, was feeling as if she were extraordinarily proving her point. Out of the corner of her vision, she watched Jamie hear the boys spilling lies of their occupations and the fantastic Zoids they knew about. His own grey eyes slowly saddened before he walked off in defeat. She felt guilty, but someone had to teach the kid this life lesson.

Now, hopefully he would spread it to Brad so the mercenary could be _honest_ about his feelings towards Naomi. As surprising as it sounded, as time wore on, Leena found herself becoming increasingly partial to her rival's romantic plight. Not that she'd admit it. But the sniperess _did _deserve some Brad-lovin'. _Yuck, bad image._

Just as she (and all the men in the group, unbeknownst to her) began to focus on an escape plan, a crying child swept behind them, making Leena's pleated skirt ruffle in his rush. "If you'll excuse me…" She trailed off, wave dying at her side as her impromptu companions edged off in another direction. She huffed, picking up speed to follow the young boy as he dashed from the ZomBios lot and into the street.

"Don't be scared, none of the Bio monsters are real!" She shouted after him, but he only ran further away. Scared for his safety, she followed, crossing streets and weaving through traffic cones as she neared a construction zone. It was early in its form, large dirt piles still marking recent craters. Chain linked fences held up with sand bags boxed in different zones—_human death-traps_—and with an obvious turn of events, she saw the child sobbing through its dangerous depths. "Trying to kill yourself or what?" She muttered, following the edge of the gate until she slipped into the same entrance he had.

She wandered, careful to avoid the obstacles underfoot, and listening intently for the child's intermittent hiccups. Now, Leena would never have admitted to being bad with directions, but instead of running into the child, she almost walked straight into a group of men huddled suspiciously amidst the rubble. Her instincts forced her behind a Z.O.I.D. bulldozer.

Men and women hung like hawks from perches around the construction site; belatedly she noticed a few carrying hefty guns and shrunk closer to her silly shield. Curiosity and a little fear for her safety had her crawling between the zoid's large wheels to peak out at the group. Well, maybe more of the curiosity—she was a born and bred Zoid warrior: she had a danger streak.

In the clearing, shadowed over with stagnant heavy-lifting equipment, two men had taken over leadership roles, and were speaking loudly with their towering Zoids behind them. A third man sat on the head of his raptor far in the background, his leg swinging lazily over the crowd. She thought she recognized the second man, the unwelcome one, but a mask obscured his face.

"And how have the unions been? The governmental prototypes have fail-safes that prevent any real energy exchange."

The gang leader responded, his voice was gruff, and it rumbled like thunder. "Strong." He appeared to glance backward at the raptor behind him. "It's why we can only offer you one. The others have been used, and they felt…angry...at the idea of being transferred."

The Masked Instigator didn't respond for a moment. Perhaps he was as flabbergasted as she was. "One is fine." He slipped a hand into an interior pocket of his battle suit, pulling something out and flicking it across the gap. The little boy-child she had followed here ran from an opening and snatched it up.

A strangled gasp escaped her lips, and she clamped her hands over her mouth in fear. Her shocked lavender eyes fixated on the boy as he ran back to the gang leader, who whispered in his ear, exchanging cards and giving the kid a pat on the head as he ran over to Mr. Phantom of the Opera. After seizing the traded object, the man climbed into the raptor behind him, and lumbered quietly into the night.

"Don't try anything too strenuous," the leader hissed darkly, the wind carrying his words to her ears, and she shivered. Just what in Zi had she witnessed? And then the situation turned on its head as the tough guy asked, "Are those tear-streaks on your face, kid?"

Through the darkness, the profile of the child was difficult to make out, but she noticed the man bend down at the waist to look the boy in the eye.

"What happened, son?"

_Oh, OH—! _Vocabulary failed to describe her emotions in that moment. Betrayal might have been mixed in there, strangely enough.

She heard, rather than saw, a fresh bout of tears run down the kids face. "The people at the ghost house…" he sobbed, "they said your Zoid didn't exist. I tried to explain to them…" She heard him suck wet snot higher into his nose. "They laughed at me," he finished miserably.

The man swept him up into his arms. "They don't know what they're talking about. None of these Zoid enthusiasts would know a real Bio even if it nibbled on their very soul."

"Father?" The boy asked, his tinny voice carrying a surprised lilt.

"Don't worry about it," he replied dismissively, patting the boy again with a large hand.

"One more thing, sir. A girl followed me."

His voice swept to a whisper, and she couldn't hear a single other word, even though her heart had probably stopped in her chest. Then the kid pointed at her.

The man swiveled, his eyes connecting with hers despite the shadowed underbelly of the zoid, the fury in them sending daggers straight for her heart. She was unable to see anything else as she scrambled backwards, dirt leaving streaks along her calves. The anger in those eyes seemed to glow behind her eyelids.

She heard the familiar howl as a Zoid mobilized. "Oh, fantastic."

. . .

Bit stuffed his hands in his pockets as he trailed behind Leon, his Red Rival. The elder man hadn't said much in the way of words toward him, essentially just dragging Bit along while grumbling angrily under his breath. _Disappearing…in the middle of the night…in an empty part of town…. _Comments like that.

Then his dear friend cuffed him around the throat and dragged them both into the ground. "Care to explain?" Bit asked, his mouth muffled by earth beneath him. The brunette released him and he sat up, coughing twice purposely as he spat out a clump of dirt. "I'm missing the haunted house."

Leon gave him a sidelong glance. "Did you actually want to go?"

Bit shrugged. "I've abandoned Jamie and Leena to a fate of third-wheeling with Brad and Naomi. They'll make me suffer for it later."

Leon wiped a tired hand across his face. "Leena isn't at the haunted house, she ran away somewhere," he focused his eyes forward, peering through the darkness pervading the construction site in front of them, "and from the looks of it, she's continued her running here."

Training their eyes forward through the gloom, the telltale outline of a Zoid on a rampage finally caught Bit's attention; the second raptor not coming to their notice until it shifted into view from behind a large crane. Only then did he see Leena's small form zigzagging through the disorder.

"She doesn't see the second Zoid," Leon muttered, an edge in his voice.

Bit leapt upward, and Leon turned to him in alarm, kicking him harshly in the side. The blonde collapsed back onto the ground, wincing. "We have to help her!" He whispered angrily, starting the standoff by kneeing Leon in the stomach. Leon responded by tackling him, which led to them wrestling inelegantly in the dirt while whispering threats at each other. It ended with Bit in a headlock.

"_Leon_, let me go!" He hissed.

"Not until you let me _think_ instead of running headfirst into a battle!"

The youth struggled harder, and Leon glanced over his shoulder as his sister's back hit a fence. The two raptors had faced them, but they were too occupied to notice the boys' nonsense as they stared Leena down like she was an appetizer. "Fuck."

"…And this position just got awkward."

. . .

Brad, Naomi, and Jamie, followed by the mercenary's newest fanclub, rounded another dark corner within the haunted house. Brad could hear the grate of wooden peepholes opening and closing as the workers tracked their movements. Their eyes made him feel slightly violated, as if he were on show, and was being judged.

In the next room, one of the painted ZomBios, triggered by their entrance, rose jerkily to its feet from a Frankenstein operating table. Metal was glued to his face and arms, and a ghoulish black makeup adorned his eyes. The zombie flung a hand against the wall, likely hitting some button and causing a shower of sparks to rain down on the group, the girls behind Brad shrieking in excitement.

Naomi drew a petrified Jamie closer to her side, and offered Brad a look of amusement that was quickly robbed by one of the fangirls burrowing a face into his shoulder and giggling loudly, thus drawing his attention. He was unable to watch her growing indignation as he chuckled at the top of the sprite's head.

Taking the lead, Brad led the group of them through the room, and even had the gall to share a cheeky smile with the teenage zombie. So, unable to stand the affront any longer, upon reaching the next venture, Naomi shoved Jamie in after the group of girls and snagged Brad's arm with a rough tug.

Her painted red lips flickered down in a frown, but even as her outrage peaked, it fell. She felt a clench in her stomach, sick with herself for expecting things she should have grown out of long ago. "You seem highly amused by these floozies."

He shrugged, "They're funny. I wouldn't say they're my type of company however."

"Could have fooled me. You are quite taken with them."

"I'd say they're more preoccupied with me." He shoved his hands in his pockets and raised his eyebrows amusedly.

"Fine. Allow them to occupy you. You should occupy them in return. I'm sure they would only be too happy to oblige."

Shocked into seriousness by her harsh reply, he held his hands up placatingly. "Hold on. Let's just calm down for a second."

"I'm calm; I've thought about this." She crossed her arms and turned away, tightening her small jacket around her in the process. "The Blitz Team is in Class S now. You're busy and the season hasn't even started yet."

"A high school fanclub doesn't make me busy, it makes me a pedophile."

She raised a single delicate eyebrow, and Brad immediately translated that to _Not what I meant, idiot._ But, truly, what did she expect? He made sarcastic comments seventy percent of the time. Luck of the draw wasn't on her side. "You've canceled or ditched me on almost every single _date_ we've been on for months."

Brad open his mouth to respond, but whatever rushed confession or malformed emotion was forming there found itself overridden with excuses, and whatever the conversation could have been faded sorrowfully into oblivion. "I never _wanted_ to leave you behind. But, there's just been battles, or emergencies, or what these teammates of mine _think_ is an emergency. Then, of course, the Shadowfox_—"_

Naomi cut him off with a hand. "I'm not berating you, I'm saying that I understand. Please, for my peace of mind, just concentrate on Class S, and enjoy your victory."

Then she walked away, her boots making a soft tapping sound, her dark red hair almost black under the lights. It only took half a beat to feel the dread that she might intend to walk _right out of his life._

"Naomi." She didn't turn. "_Naomi." _He followed her.

. . .

With a sudden twist of her body, Leena tightened her hold on the diamond-chain fence and flung herself halfway up its length. She heard a thud and a hiss as one of the beasts sprayed a torrent of fire in her direction, the blast hitting where she had just stood. As her grey boots found purchase on a metal bar atop the barricade, the heat from the open flame forced her to shake her hands off and jump_—_the fast heating metal already too much for her bare skin.

She tucked and rolled, focusing on the yellow crane twenty feet in front of her. Hearing the fence crunch with the jingly sound of displaced metal, she put all of her effort into clambering up the zoid's large treads and into the pilot's chair. Luckily, the Bio's seemed hesitant to torch her again, thus giving her a few precious seconds as they charged their claws. Flinging herself to the floor, she tore at the panel underneath the controls, popping the rusted screws out with shear determination.

The air whistled as a Bio attacked, and she yelped as she felt the whole crane tilt as the arm was forcibly swung away. Quicker now, her sweating fingers slipping on the jumble of wires, she used her teeth to rip what she could, hastily separating and attaching what she must. After the first time she had been abducted by the Backdraft, she had compelled Brad into teaching her the basics of hotwiring a Zoid, much to his chagrin. He hadn't fully trusted her intentions at the time, and he had criticized her with rigor, but she could have kissed him now for his gruff and simple instructions. Zoids were of course manufactured differentially from the purely labor-oriented machines that were zoids, but quite a few wires looked similar, and she almost cried with relief when the crane bucked and hummed into life.

Then a blast of hot air hit her in the side, and she pulled her head from under the console to pivot wide lavender eyes on the gaping Bio Raptor's mouth. The exhaust from the flamethrower washed over her again, eerily alike the warm breath from a foul beast that had risen out of eons past to sniff her out.

"Gross, some breath," she said halfheartedly.

Its fangs glowed white-hot. Her own hand inched upward to a lever and pulled_—_the crane tried to turn left, but the Raptor's body withheld the motion. Jaws clamped against the frame and jerked, trying to rip her out into the open. Her hand found another lever and yanked, this time causing the crane's arm to swing wildly, striking the Bio in the side and splashing a barrel full of some strong smelling liquid over it.

With those few moments, she flipped herself upright_—_noting in passing that the smell was gasoline_—_and swung again, the crane's momentum pushing the Bio to the ground. Pushing forward, she scoured the ground for something else to hook that wasn't liable to go kaboom. She found instead, in a moment of bafflement, her brother.

He pointed toward a steel beam, which she of course had no way of grasping, noticing belatedly that he had meant Bit, who was now pointing to her right in giddy dance. Swiveling, she smacked the second Bio midair, forcing it to the ground while the Raptor roared in anger.

"Baaaaatter up!" She heard someone shout gleefully, and so with a self-deprecating sigh she turned back to the battle with the intention of fighting rather than fleeing.

In the immediate confusion, Leon slid over the ground toward the downed Bio Raptor, flinging open the cockpit with the emergency switch. Inside, the man was pale and fortunately unconscious, so the brunette hooked him underneath the arms and dragged him out and behind a dune. In the hasty bustle of battle, hoping that the pilot didn't get stepped on was the best he could do moralistically.

Once inside the cockpit, Leon gave a cursory glance over the weapon and armor systems, surprised at the lack of damage the screens belied. Hadn't Leena given it a few solid whacks? The light, organic armor system should not have pristinely withstood such a brutish assault. Finding it strange, but casting it off as a stroke of luck, he grasped the appropriate levers and headed off to distract the Raptor.

Snakes slithered under his boots as he walked, and could he actually _feel _the ground on his feet?

Then, they were upon each other. The other Bio opening its maw to spew fire before hesitating, giving Leon the chance to swipe with a claw. Belatedly, he saw a button to charge them, and hit it with a palm. In a moment, bright wires sprung up and around his arm, melding to him like another skin, and his hand, his _nails_ were charged, _hypercharged._ He swung again, this time his Bio's glowing claws ripping off metal.

The enemy Zoid backed away warily, its long tail twitching in nervousness as it eyed first one opponent, and then its other—Leena, the fearsome opponent in her crane. Wonders would never cease.

_Cracckkkk! _In shock, he noticed the enemy had swung at him while he had been distracted, and he could see the armor systems fading to yellow, red in some places. Then, a jolt, the wires that had threaded their way around his legs unbeknownst to him suddenly angry, and taking from him what they needed to continue their fight. With trepidation, and a healthy dose of horror, he watched the leg armor flash back to yellow and green.

He turned on the external speakers. "Leena, I'm going to need your help freezing him." Since he was unable to hear her response, he amended, "Follow my lead, I guess."

He leapt, further crushing the already maimed fence, and gripped a sandbag with his toes to fling at the face of the Bio Raptor. In the offbeat, he charged again, this time a wire squirming its way erotically into his mouth, allowing him the electric taste of iron as his Hypercharged fangs slid into his opponent's shoulder.

With impeccable timing, Leena lowered her crane like a battering ram and collided with the Bio Raptor's stomach.

Someone said "_Oof!_" Then followed with a gagging cough. "_You won't win_."

"Excuse me?" He growled in return.

"Oh. Did you think you were piloting a unicorn?"

Claws ripped up his throat, and Leon heaved himself away with a gurgle. The other man laughed caustically, throwing more weight onto Leena's crane, digging the arm's end into the ground. "They're Bios. They burn fast, bright, and die early. You were finished the second you touched it."

"Funny, I'm of the opinion that you were finished the second you tried to hurt my sister."

"I should rephrase...the moment _it _touched _you_."

"No, let me rephrase. _Shut up, you sick fuck._"

As he stalked the enemy Bio backwards, its back resting on a wall of scaffolding, he grinned a little in triumph. Only then did the enemy's lack of tactics dawn on him, and he saw shadows scurrying around on the wooden beams above their heads.

"Helic, Leon!" Leena yelled, and in the silence her voice carried. "Out here, you're the only thing covered in gasoline. They've cornered you!"

"Bit—!" The brunette shouted, his alarm echoing over the construction site.

"Way ahead of you, genius." Said blonde panted in response, hanging from his fingers on the edge of the scaffold. It was a difficult wriggle, but he managed to pull himself upward, flopping onto his belly with a relieved whoosh of air.

He army-crawled forward, already having been in the optimal position for it, and peeked up at the next level up. The fear of a round of bullets in his face kept him cautious, even though his friend's life was obviously very much more at risk. The sniper, holding a large cannon on his shoulder, appeared to be scanning the battlefield far ahead of him; _so, they think I'm way out there, do they? Leon, you lucky son of a gun._

Bit grasped a miniature ladder and tip-toed upwards, holding his breath. The creaking structure gave him away though, and when that barrel swung towards his face, he almost lost his dinner. His saving grace was the half-faint half nose-dive he made for the guy's stomach.

Bit's left hand went immediately to hold the launcher down, and the sniper's left went to the goggles on his eyes—meant for focusing, and not for close-quarters fighting. Too little, too late. He moved the handicap, and Bit's fist broke his nose.

There was a high-pitched _Peewww_, and the blonde had just enough time to see a secondary shooter send a rocket streaking through the night towards Leon's Bio Raptor, connecting with a deafening silence. The loud humming in his ears blocked out all other sound, and he vaguely remembered once long ago wishing for a dark-night battle to entertain him, now only finding brighter flames for his insolence.

What felt like years later, the fire burst lessened and Leon crawled from the wreckage.

**— **

Leon ejected from the Bio Zoid, feeling a little sick to his stomach. His legs were numb too, but whether it was an effect of the unadjusted pilot's seat or the cables that had wrapped themselves around him he wasn't sure.

He slid haphazardly from the cockpit, his knees not completely obeying him, and the world lurched, tumbled, and fell back into place. It was like a migraine suddenly drove a spike into his temple, and he was forced onto all fours. Figuring that it was just a bout of lightheadedness, Leon bent to place his head on the asphalt, working his jaw to try and get the blood moving in the right direction again.

Something crackled in his ears and he attributed it to either a Zoid or his sister's feet scurrying around. The burnt smell of new tar circled nauseatingly near his nostrils. His back tingled. How funny...in his wooziness he could feel phantom wires of the Bio reaching out to him even now—crying _feed me, feed me_.

"Come on, stand up lazy bones." Bit, whose approach he hadn't noticed, swam into his vision and knelt at his side. Bit grasped Leon's arm and swung it up over his shoulder, hefting the downed pilot to his feet. "It's time to get out of Dodge."

The pair walked a slow line forward, Leon grumbling and swaying the whole way. They paused only for Leena who had just scuttled down the crane and was slipping underneath Leon's other arm. "The gang has cleared out, it looks like we're alone." She patted her brother on the cheek and watched his eyes flutter. She gave Bit a questioning glance, but he could only shrug in return, just as baffled. So she hid her concern with off-handed anger. "What are you even doing here?"

"He dragged me along."

Bit grinned cheekily at her and she rolled eyes. "Some hero you are."

Then some final crackle averted their attention to the waning Bio, and they glanced over Leon's stiffened shoulders at the beast. It gave one last hum, as if finally giving up the struggle against the rocket in its belly, and allowed the explosion to destroy it. A fire bloomed, red and yellow like an innocent bicolored rose, and a rush of wind swept outward—a last exhale.

It buffeted them, surprising them into misplaced steps, and they stumbled before Leon's leaden weight dragged all three of them down in a heap.

It was a quick death, but the fall seemed to have knocked the loose screw back into place for the Red Comet, and when the wind faded and Leon came back to himself, it was with absolute clarity of thought and feeling. What had incapacitated him so? It seemed silly now. Perhaps his blood sugar was on the low side.

He also became quite aware that he, Bit, and Leena were entangled in an odd sort of pile that would have been hard to explain in any other situation. For instance, the cheek he had pressed to Bit's shoulder blade was surely inappropriate.

He jerked away in alarm, now truly back in reality. Look left, right—yes, battle is over. Look up, stars too dim to tell if much time had passed. Down, Bit and Leena were also stiffly getting their bearings. He sat up like a rocket. Hold on just one holy second…there were inappropriate body arrangements going on here and _his sister was involved?_

Maybe the dizzy spell hadn't completely left him yet, because his vision started getting blurry around the edges. Bit had half of his arm up the back of Leena's shirt, and, sure, it was probably an accident, and Leena was usually good at picking the fights she needed to pick, but currently rational thought wasn't working well for Leon.

Just the idea that they weren't embarrassed by the situation—the fact that they were acting as if this were _normal_…

Bit wasn't touching her, in fact, his palm was pressed towards the pavement to prop himself up, but the thought that Leena was letting him get away with being _underneath her clothes _infuriated Leon past the point of no return. He was seeing red.

So, even as the three of them extricated their limbs from the others in their struggle to their feet, Leon loosed a fist and punched Bit square in the jaw. "Wha…" The blonde mumbled, spinning a little on his heel, and fell sideways back onto the tarmac.

"Leon! What is wrong with you today?"

"He deserved it." He leveled a finger at her threateningly. "If you argue with me…I _will_ get you grounded for this joyful adventure."

She pouted, but he had experience with her wiles and stood firm. "He always deserves at least a little abuse," she consented with a roll of her eyes, "but stop treating me like some damsel. Now we have to drag his carcass all the way to the jeep."

Leon shrugged. "He'll wake up."

"No, he won't. He sleeps like a rock."

Leon turned a critical eye towards her, and she sighed dramatically on account of her evidently horrible word choice.

"You know this…how?"

. . .

There were many things to be said about being a hero. None of those comments included Jamie Hemeros.

The boy pressed his back into a corner, straining his eyes down both darkened corridors so that he would know which way to run should a ZomBio slink out of the woodwork. It really was unfortunate that he had to rely on his alter ego to be courageous for him, but trauma did that to a person. Watching his father almost die in a plane crash was not a situation that bred bravery.

So, the further he shrunk into the unyielding corner, the more he marveled at his fear and his inability to control it.

Who was he but a strategist that preferred to sit behind his electronic screens? Should he accept that his true self would grow up to be a man that froze at the mention of danger? That he must rely on the Wild Eagle to know such things as valor and gallantry?

This was a mind-battle best won in mid-air. For now, he would settle for relying on his alter ego for at least long enough to make everyone rue deserting him. Then he would tease them mercilessly for leaving early in fear.

That is, if he ever made it out.

. . .

Bit prodded at his bruised jaw. "I'm guessing Leon taught you how to punch?"

"Actually, our father taught us both."

Bit turned and gaped at the highly amused girl next to him. "Remind me not to make him angry."

Leena got a good look at the macabre expression he aimed at her, and she couldn't help but giggle.

Wait, she _giggled_?

Leon prickled with shock. He had to admit, he had found it a tad odd that she had ditched shotgun to sit in the backseat with the so-called 'bane of her existence,' but _giggling_?

Purely out of innocent curiosity, Leon shifted his gaze askance and studied the two teammates closely through the rearview mirror. Well, they were grinning and talking innocuously enough, but their shoulders were brushing in a flirtatious lean into the other. Sure, his jeep wasn't large, but there was plenty of space to NOT TOUCH HIS SISTER. _Deep breaths, Leon, deep breaths._

The exit for the desert road from the city loop came suddenly, and Leon was forced to stop obsessively glaring down the blonde menace to avoid an ill-placed curb. When he was again fixed on the monotonous journey south, Leon risked looking back again. He very nearly squawked at the situation that assaulted him.

Bit was holding up his sister's hand and explaining something about her knuckles. Instead of retaliating, Leena let a laugh escape her and replied with a bodily shove before their hands dropped out of sight. Leon took a well-deserved moment to blink at the ghostlike image of himself in the windshield. _What in the name of sanity?_

Again he took note of the pair—despite his best warnings and the already split skin on the hand clenched tightly around the steering wheel. One glance.

Leena was gnawing on her lip, and they were half-smiling at each other as if there were some secret only they were privy to.

Snapping his focus forward, Leon grumbled quietly, not that they would have heard it anyway, and trained his eyes forward in permanent resolve. Of course he didn't mind seeing his little sister happy, in fact, he was happy _for_ her. Unfortunately, it just so happened that there was also an overwhelming brotherly urge overriding their collective happiness that wanted to slam the car to a halt, swivel around, and launch his fist into Bit's face. Again.

Maybe thrice.

. . .

_Next time on Zoids:_

_"Mr. Hemeros speaking. I've never been superb at reading people's emotions, but even I notice the pit everyone is in. Leon's overwhelmingly lethargic, Bit and Leena are at each other's throats, Brad is sulking more than usual, and something is upsetting Jamie, but he's become too much of a teenager to tell me. And to top it all off, Zi decided to explode. Next time on Zoids: The Heroes' Journey—The Fire Phoenix's Debut. I think the sky is falling. Ready? Fight!"_

* * *

><p><strong>Leon <strong>uses _real_ curse words, because he's _pissed._

I initially had passages from the Fuma Team, but I moved those scenes to a Ch 22 because they work well there too. Unfortunately, I think losing those scenes make this chapter lose a little of the scary element. It also means I need to summarize the backstory to make everything clearer. Yes, it was Polta who picked up the Bio Raptor. Fuma is up to something, per usual.

If I were awesome, and this were a rated M fic, Leon would be dead. Also, Brad and Naomi would have had sexytimes before they got in a relationship breaking argument. Alas, none of these things have come to pass. Well, maybe Br/N shenanigans, but that's completely up to you. I won't discuss my head-canon vs fic-canon because, in a weird way, they're slightly different.

Bit and Leena had a mini-freakout when they thought Leon was dead, but they won't have a full-fledged one until they are safe back home. Same with Leon. This will cause problems which you'll see next chapter, thanks to Oracle in Vayne!

And I come back to Leon as a character. This is actually the first time that I actually like him. I always thought he was too goody-goody. Now he's defending the 'innocence' of his younger sister and cursing and having hardcore battles. Much better. This is me adding salt to Leon's personality, hope you like.

Also, the zoid vs Zoids idea comes from the first chapter when I didn't realize 'Zoid' was capitalized. I started thinking, 'Toyota Camry' is capitalized, but not 'car', and so 'zoids' could be a general term or a vehicle-machine without an AI. Lore attacked me again.

Also, let me take another minute to talk about Brad/Naomi. I guess their segment is sort of short here. In 19 there'll be another confrontation, and then in 20 there will be metaphorical explosions. 20 is _the_ Br/N chapter. It's a fun plotline too, I'm excited to write it.

Another random comment: I combed over the dialogue. Sometimes I thought the flow of dialogue mattered more than who precisely said it. Besides, sometimes it didn't matter who said something, just that the conversation progressed. Plus, I think it makes the scene 'sound' faster.

****Disclaimer: ****I do not own NC0. I do own the concept of a 'zoid' and ZomBios.

**Reviews:** Overall, I felt like I slightly failed everyone last chapter :( But then I reread the reviews and realized you guys were mostly nice about it. I'm glad I've made a good enough impression at this point that you won't walk away if I take an interlude that would probably get completely looked over if it were a oneshot. Anyway, I know I had fun writing it, and I learned a lot from responses, and I think these next four chapters will be so hardcore NC0 that it'll make up for it.

Now getting into specifics, Randomcat23, I'm glad you were liking all of my 'lore' tidbits, with regular scenes and Zi-centric curse words, and then this chapter I just blow all that up and have Leon cussing with real curse words (first time real curses appeared in this story I think). But, I LOVE making up curse words for this world. In my head, (uhm, curse warning?) the level of terrible to less terrible curses in real life are approximately: Fuck, Damn, Hell, Mary Mother of God! (or something longwinded of that nature). The parallels on Zi are: Nyx, Helic, Zoid Eve, Flammable Zoid Cores! (as said by Laon). Anyway, I have fun thinking of these. And as always, thank you so much for the compliments :)

Dunge missed the Blitz Team, and so I revamped Ch. 22! It's much better now and will include almost every character at some time instead of just the Fuma team.

TheDragooner, thank you for your critique. I put a lot of thought into it, and I completely understand. I spend so much time with these characters in my head, but of course it would feel more disconnected to someone who isn't privy to that. Your review was another major reason Ch. 22 got an update. The Br/N was probably shorter than you wanted, but hold out for me okay? Ch 20 is unadulterated. You also mention my responses to comments, but guess what? You guys are leaving longer reviews! It's totally selfish on my part—the more I talk to you, the more feedback I get. :P

Gojiralee, you also brought up the disconnect in the particular scene between the mission and Stoller renting a Zoid. While clear in my head, it definitely doesn't come through on paper. I think I was just hoping it would because I couldn't think of an interesting enough scene for pure explanation. My fault -_- Also, if you're serious about seeing Stoller and Sanders and Pierce again, I was toying with their level of involvement in the final chapters. I'm still thinking of a way to merge them in without it being too deau-ex-machina. (I noted the exclamation mark—it's sitting at the beginning of the final arc reminding me not to suck those chapters up, haha thanks again!)

**Did** I already say how almost everything of the rest of the fic is outlined? There is very little left to chance now. It's boggling my mind. Titles, summaries...even some scenes are written. But before I lose myself to sentimentality, must end the author's note! My favorite scene of this chapter is when Leena is scanning for a weapon and sees Leon instead haha. Next chapter is gonna be Jamie-centric, and I even have a little promo in this chapter for it. See you all next time!


	19. Episode 19

Episode Nineteen

_The Heroes' Journey—The Fire Phoenix's Debut_

_"Battle mode approved"_

_Hey Mum,_

_I know it's been awhile since I've written, but you're always in my thoughts, and I think you know that. _

_Dad's back, and he's been teaching me some aerial combat tricks. It's been nice. You know, he and I never spent much time together after you left and I moved in with Doc, but he's making up for it now. His girl advice is horrible though._

_He's proud of me for being the Wild Eagle, and I am too, most of the time. Now, though, I'm remembering how you always used to remind me not to forget who I am. I'm Jamie, the tactician who likes to stick his nose into a simulation and gets treated like a kid, but I'm also the brave Wild Eagle. Things are changing here on Zi though, and I think it's time I changed too. I need to be Jamie the Wild Eagle, but I don't know how to make that leap._

_What makes a hero, mum?_

—

"Have any of you seen my goggles? I wanted to take a walk."

Jamie entered the lounge, at this time of night his team members were usually quite asleep, but tonight they were blanketed in a hush of blue television static, wide awake and yet lost in their own minds.

Noncommittal responses greeted him in return, so he fumbled to the panel on his left and activated the room's brightness display.

"Or just sulk here in the dark, whatever makes you happy."

"I am not sulking!"

The lights warmed, passing through dim and into early evening. Brad stood, stuffing his lucky rabbit's-foot necklace into his pocket, and strode out, an apathetic expression on his face.

"Brad's taking initiative. You can walk with him." Bit leaned back into the curved blue couches. "I'm going to continue _relaxing_ though."

"I might go with you." Leena sat opposite the blonde warrior, but directed her words at Jamie, twisting her hair into nervously made braids, then letting them slowly unravel from behind her ear. "I want to check on Leon."

"Why?" Bit reacted, explosively, as if it were the last straw in a silent argument they'd been having. "He's _fine_, Leena! If you keep coddling him, he'll revert back into toddler form."

From Jamie's vantage point in the doorway he glanced hurriedly around the room, looking for any nearby breakables. However, Leena didn't rise to the bait, and instead her lip jutted out in a slight pout. She continued reasonably. "Why don't you come too?" She stepped carefully around the table, shifting onto his couch, and tried to lay a hand on his arm. Bit flinched away accordingly. Their eyes met and her hand fell back into her lap. Her voice continued on, small and miserable. "You were there. You saw him."

"Yeah, and he was perfectly capable of hitting me across the face after. He is in prime condition."

"He _has_ been sleeping an awful lot."

"Nobody _asked_ you, Jamie." Which was true. In fact, nobody had appealed to or told him anything. Something had happened to Leon (and Bit and Leena) while they had all been at the haunted house, but it was being kept between them like the big, fat secret it was.

"Maybe you should. You're all acting…weird!"

"I am not!" Bit squawked. "If anybody is acting strange, it's all of you. Everybody's walking on eggshells!"

"We have a reason to be. I'm nervous. When that rocket hit Leon's Zoid I—" Leena faltered, pressed a palm against her stomach.

"Lost your lunch?" He ran a frustrated hand through his wild blonde hair. "Look, I'm fine. You're fine. Leon was fine, he is fine, and he _will be _fine. Stop—" Bit paused here to search the air in exasperation, his green eyes flicking across the ceiling. "—moaning about how we're all going to wake up in body bags tomorrow. It's asinine."

The hurt in Leena's expression morphed quickly into rage and Jamie took a firm hold on the nearby toaster. "You heartless mongrel." Leena poked a rigid finger into his shoulder, her voice a hiss. "I would tear you to pieces if I wasn't so worried about the Undrafted attacking us with those Bios." Bit turned away, the tendon connecting his clenched jaw to his neck standing out prominently. "You're lucky we need you and your damned hero complex to pilot the last Ultimate X."

She stood, punctuating her statement with her motion, and moved towards the door—her anger making her fluid. Jamie turned and followed after her, playing with the navy hem of his tank top. Over the years he had gotten good at reading her, so when the redhead's gait slowed enough to seem contemplative, he pulled alongside her.

He felt a small amount of apprehension curdling at the bottom of his heart. Her face was pensive and sad, and a part of him ached to comfort her. Jamie hovered uneasily as she stilled to pull her boots on at the door.

"Leena," he cleared his throat, "I know you're worried, but you don't have to be. I can protect you and the Hover Cargo with the Raynos. The Undrafted can't catch me."

She turned just enough to give him a tight, false smile. "Attaboy, Jamie." He closed his grey eyes in a wince as she patted him on the head. In a way, it was worse than Bit demeaning him outright in his fit of anger. She didn't mean it, but it came off patronizing, like a motion you would make to placate a child. _Thank you for this horribly inaccurate drawing, dearie, Mommy will hang it on the fridge._ He swallowed the rest of his words in his mouth, and let Leena walk out into the desert without him.

. . .

Naomi answered the door clad in small red pajamas, her face clear from lack of makeup. Like this, she looked less like the feared sniperess she built her reputation to be and more like a breakable young woman.

"Come in." She beckoned, and Brad and Leena entered, the door sliding shut behind them. The Gustav wasn't exactly made for living large, so it was a short walk into the small joint kitchen-lounge that branched into the bed-bath ensemble. She stopped to pick a fading blanket from the couch and wrapped it around her shoulders.

"How's Leon?" Leena queried, glancing in the direction she knew his room to reside.

"Oh he's his usual self, just gets tired a little faster. He's asleep right now, like all of us should be."

"I'll just be a minute." She replied, and slipped off into the corridor.

Naomi's light eyes followed the girl, then avoided Brad's as she slid onto an armrest. Trying to maintain a semblance of dignity, the female pilot cleared her throat and attempted small-talk. It didn't help any that the two of them hadn't spoken since she stormed away the other day. Even now, Brad's broad shoulders blocked the doorway as if to prevent her escape.

"Sorry about the mess, I've been a bit frazzled."

He ignored her attempt at an awkward dance-around, instead replying gruffly, "What?"

She frowned. "Oh, never mind." Her fingers wore new holes into the threadbare cloth blanketing her. "If you came to see Leon, now's a good time. Leena probably woke him up, and he won't be up again till mid-afternoon…"

"I'm not here to bother Leon during his bout of mononucleosis." His hands went deeper into his pockets. "You've been ignoring every message I send you. I figure the only way to have a conversation is to corner you."

"I'm not brushing you off; I'm not fifteen. Things have been hectic here—Leon's been sick and—"

"Cooping yourself in here is sure going to cure him." Brad interjected, muttering.

"It sure as Nyx isn't going to _harm_ him!" She stood, squaring off with him.

"And you're positive that being overly-concerned about napping has nothing to do with avoiding this?" As he spoke, he gestured across the distance between them with a rigid thumb.

"This isn't about 'us'. This is about how I've only _just_ finished repairing the damage to the Gustav, and how Leon's been hurt _again_, except this time I have no idea why, and he won't _tell me _because he doesn't want to _worry me._" She turned towards the corridor Leena had disappeared down and raised her voice. "Well, too late for that, Leon, I'm already worried!"

The mercenary heaved a sigh, running a hand through his long brown hair. "Leon likes his secrets. He still won't tell any of us why he wears those talismans around his neck during battle, and he only hints about the red armband. Be happy he isn't disappearing for months on end without word."

"You haven't been here, Brad. Sometimes he seems fine, and the next he looks like death warmed over."

"If you let me over, then I would know."

"Everything I say, and you bring it back to this angle."

"It's important." He tried to catch her expression, but her face remained averted. "It used to be important to you too."

"I said what I needed to say." Her lips pressed into a thin line, and she felt her stomach drop a little. "You're up in arms about my not answering your calls…but you weren't able to make time for me for weeks!" She waved her hand haphazardly in a gesture to her surroundings. "I'm not used to waiting around for someone, and I spent enough time lingering to realize I didn't like doing it!"

"I've focused on my own well-being just as long as you have, Naomi. In a relationship, there's always give and take." His blue eyes bored into her. "I _have_ to take care of my team, and you can't expect me to drop them for you."

"I know. You reminded me of that," she replied coldly. "My Gunsniper and my team comes first, and everything else is second. I'm having a hard enough time keeping my Gustav running, much less bothering with anything else."

"So, you're giving up."

"No! Brad just…no!" She shoved her hands over her ears and sat on the arm of the couch with a huff of frustration. "Please just respect my wishes and don't say anything."

"Pushing me away doesn't change the fact that we need to have this conversation."

"I need to take care of my team. And if you're not here to do that, then you should leave."

"You're avoiding the issue."

"Just go, Brad."

"You're avoiding _me._"

"Just go!"

He glared at her for a moment, and she turned her eyes away, slouching further into the couch. It wasn't fair to him, but she knew, as messy as this was, that this was the right course of action. Independence had ruled her lifestyle a long while, and Zi going to hell in a handbasket was the wrong reason to change that.

"I'll bring some coffee in the morning." Brad said gruffly, then swiveled and stomped away, his fists clenched at his sides.

**. . .**

_Mum, after you left I knew, even as a child, that I needed to take care of myself. I understood that I was suddenly more responsible for my welfare than ever before. _

_I had needed the Blitz team, and over time I proved that they could need me a little too._

_We need so much more now, though, and that same part of me thinks I can provide that for them, but I don't know how to prove it. How do I show that I'm ready to be more than they think I am?_

—

Leena and Brad sat upon the head of the Hover Cargo, after having slipped out through the skylight in the command room, they intended to enjoy the desert breezes that swept in before noon. Above them, two birds wheeled and tumbled, enjoying the thermals in a totally different way.

With a contented sigh, Leena said, "I forgot that life can be good."

"You think so?" Brad replied gruffly. His tone surprised her, so she turned to look at the frown on his face.

"You _don't_ think so?"

"The world is falling to pieces around us. The only thing that isn't changing is this damnable desert."

The dry wind blew again, swirling warmth from the rising heat of the sands below them. "Change is a good thing."

He snorted indelicately, "Do they tell you that in princess camp? The Backdraft have changed for the worse, and Zi itself is shaking trying to keep up."

"We can handle it, as a team, like always. Leon said nothing can beat us when we stand together."

"This isn't 'like always', Leena, not anymore." He slouched, turning his back to her.

"Afraid, then? Or just plain stopped believing in us?"

He scowled, "I am not_ afraid_."

"Then stop acting like it's the end of the world."

He pulled at his hair in aggravation. "I'm not. I'm telling you to grow up."

He swiveled, plunging his feet back into the skylight and jumping down. Leena shouted back, "You grow up!" But the mercenary either didn't hear, or had chosen to ignore her.

Below the hatch, Brad skirted past Dr. Toros in the command room and aimed for the hangar. A ride in the Shadowfox might clear his mind, he figured. Since when had spending meditation time with his bipolar teammate done him any good anyway?

He didn't make it far. While descending the ladder onto the main level, his boot had connected with the top of Oscar's head and much shenanigans were had by the two men as they awkwarded about trying to find a proper direction to continue in. In the end, Brad was too embarrassed to even remain sullen.

"Have you taken that look at the Phoenix's frame?"

"I have." Brad crossed his arms in thought. "The Undrafted did a lot of damage. After all the rework it was difficult to put things back where they were made to go."

"Is that why the boosters felt funny this morning?" Oscar fished around in the bib of his overalls, pulling out a scrap of grimy paper. "I also found this—you changed something with the controls?"

Brad grabbed the note and glanced over it. "No, this is Bit's crappy handwriting." He scanned further. "Well, Bit and I ran into a problem that we solved unconventionally. This is about that." The elder man raised his brow, so Brad continued. "Since the Fire Phoenix is a new Zoid type—likely further developed from an older version by Dr. Laon—there wasn't a way we could order specific parts. I ended up using the Shadowfox's turret bearings and mounting system to attach the ion boosters." Brad shrugged, handing the paper back. "It looks like Bit rewired some things, and Jamie should have reprogrammed the interface, if Bit's note-taking skills can be trusted."

"So…I can aim my jets in any direction, like a gun?"

Brad frowned. "No. Does that even sound safe to you?"

"I'll ask Jamie. Have you seen him?"

The mercenary scratched at the tattoo on his arm, thinking. Usually the aviator and his conversations degraded into a type of this nature. A race to see who could get to the topic of Jamie fast enough so they could get the hell out of there.

"I saw the Raynos flying while Leena and I were on the roof."

"Great, I'll meet him in the hangar."

Drat. He certainly couldn't go there anymore. There was only so much you could say about mutually understood and mundane Jamie-oriented things on the long walk over to the hangar doors. So, television it was.

Brad split and made for the common room where he could mope in peace without being berated by a cheerful Leena or made to feel awkward by forcing conversation with Jamie's father. Once safe, Brad sunk into the plush cushions of the blue couch and tried to remember the days his life had been less complicated.

Far above him, flying in a different sort of blue, Jamie in the Raynos was met with a sudden sight—the aurora. Green lights dancing across the clouds in the middle of the day, in a region so close to the equator that the show wasn't improbable, but nigh impossible. In shock, and a little awe, Jamie radioed down. "Doc, are you seeing this?"

"Are you? Because I think I had too much sugar this morning."

_Magnesser was a renowned genius, famous for his reverse engineering of flight efficient Wild Zoids and design of the Magnesser System. __This system, using the robust magnetic fields that gripped the large planet of Zi, allowed for high maneuverability and a frightening combat capability. In essence, its superiority catapulted the system past all air powered vehicles and soon dominated the market. Civilian aircraft dabbled in gases and airflow, but they all fell back on the safe and secure Magnesser instrumentation._

_And this was all well and good as long as the magnetic fields of Zi remained steady. However, no cosmic creation is infallible, no matter how dependent the species chooses to be on it. Willing no undulation didn't make it so. _

_The sun raged, spots darkening its yellow light, and a massive storm hit Zi without so much as an apology. A solar flare of epic proportions that bent the magnetic fields into a rainbow across the sky._ _The world, made of glass, reflecting their own fears in waves of sea-green across the stratosphere. Don't throw stones, it whispered, but they did anyway, and it shattered._

"Jamie, I'm receiving an SOS from a civilian vehicle almost two miles from here."

"I think I see it. Grey blimp?"

"Metal zeppelin."

The warnings to rapidly land all flying Zoids were still echoing loudly in his ears, but a part of Jamie knew that the moment he heard someone was in danger, he wouldn't be able to turn his back on them. Years ago, even months ago, he would have been too afraid to even pilot the Raynos, much less outright disobey the safety division of Zi's Aviation Authority. But the confidence he had gained with his skills as the Wild Eagle lent a particularly heroic flavor to his current thoughts.

Doc, always one to push him harder, appeared to think similarly. "They've deployed life-kites. You'll need to give them a wide berth."

"On it, Doc."

"Careful—" He started, but his voice was cut off by Jamie's sudden shout, and the Raynos dove a full fifty feet before catching itself.

"What—" Jamie began, but was interrupted again as the Raynos rose drastically into the air, turning a full 180 degrees in the process.

"The Magnesser System, Jamie. It operates based on the magnetic field…"

"Dark Nyx." He swore. "My control system…" The Raynos swung again, this time facing the descending zeppelin again. The young aviator gripped the levers tighter. "How much time do I have?"

"Just land, kid. I don't want to watch you crash."

"I've got an ejection seat for a reason." He dropped his voice to validate his own seriousness, but Dr. Toros saw a flash of the Wild and surrendered.

"A few minutes, tops."

And Jamie was off, his boosters blasting forward until he was a speck in the sky.

—

The Raynos turned adeptly, and the boosters hummed their usual vibration, for all the world seeming like this were any normal flight and they weren't about to betray him.

When the large metal beast grew close enough to hail, Jamie pulled back on the throttle, wheels skidding to a halt on the curved surface of the zeppelin. The senders of the SOS didn't answer his line, so to save the precious moments of safe flight left to him, Jamie exited the Raynos and stuck his head down the hatch.

Inside, an elder gentleman fiercely hugged a small girl, glancing up only after the young aviator's ruckus above them pulled him to distraction. His hair was a dark jet black, but its grey streaks shone from the fluorescent lighting.

Though Jamie was usually in support of social etiquette, the aurora did not allow time for pleasantries. So, it was not more than a half-second after partially entering the room that he barked, "Up and out, now."

The pilot understood the emergency, and picked up the child, their blue eyes belying their shared sadness. "We're still in the path of the life-kites. Take my niece."

Jamie replied with a short affirmative, grasping the hand of the tear-stricken female suddenly thrust into his arms. She wasn't much younger than him, but her long reddish-brown pigtails tricked her image into looking younger and shorter.

"Please don't make me leave him." She shouted and argued every step of the run back to his green Zoid, but she allowed herself to be tugged along. "Uncle!" The cockpit hadn't even fully closed before Jamie slammed the Raynos forward, claws leaving scratches along the grey hull as they ripped away.

Two seconds away from the hull, and Jamie lost complete control. The unresponsive levers under his hands bent, twisted, and sparked, but did nothing to stop the sudden descent of the Raynos. He tried to reach Dr. Toros in the base, but even the radio hummed with static. "_Nyx._"

He swiveled, and his grey eyes met the blue of the girl behind him, hers widening enough to see his own grim reflection. She reached her arm out to him, and he reached back, gripping her hand tightly.

"Why didn't you leave with the life-kites?"

"I had to find Pa."

Jamie nodded resolutely, tugging her forward as he ripped apart the backrest of his pilot's chair. "That was brave of you." He slipped her arms through manufactured straps as best he could.

Then, the Raynos banked hard to the left, and his Zoid keened long and loud—maybe it hurt to be manhandled incorrectly by Zi's magnetosphere—before shuddering into a steady cruise. "Jamie!" Dr. Toros shrieked through the comm-link, "Get out now! The waves will keep hitting—" His voice cut off by another burst of static, and Jamie frowned, spending a precious few moments experimenting lightly with his flight control system. Rough, but functioning.

His eyes flicked back to the girl crouched hesitantly behind him. He secured his seatbelt, then stood to grasp the glass roof encasing the two young teens. "Hold tight."

She did, and he pushed. The wind immediately whipped at their faces, and her pigtails smacked his cheeks and neck during their ascent. Jamie secured her with gloved hands on her shoulders, yelling to be heard over the wind. "Wait five seconds. Make sure your stomach faces the ground. Then pull this tab here."

"Aren't you—"

"I can't be the Wild Eagle without my bird." He smirked, and her tiny fists tightened into his yellow jersey.

"Thank you."

Then she let go, and the gale sucked her right out of his vision.

It took effort, but with the combination of his Raynos and his own arm power, he was able to reclose the cockpit. He had to risk diving just to reduce the pressure above him, but sliding into his chair and being able to breathe easy was well worth it.

"You didn't leave with the parachute, did you?"

"No." He replied to the good doctor, fighting the swings and dips with pure determination. "'Chute isn't designed for two anyway."

Another wave. Not as bad as the first, but it only took a fraction of a second to spin him wildly out of control. The roll was unstable, twisting him faster and faster until the sky, clouds, and grey blimp melded into a dizzying blur. His swiss cheese wings did nothing to slow him, and bile rose in his throat as he attempted to blink back motion sickness.

"Urgh…I can't…" Then his nose hit the zeppelin, likely just as lost in the sky as he, and the jolt traveled up his spine. His forehead snapped forward to hit the buttons on his console and Jamie immediately lost consciousness. The Raynos continued, however, its momentum sending it end over end along the curved hull until it landed on its side; the echoes of its sickening crunch heard by none.

**— **

"Zoid Eve." Many questions had run through Leena's mind in the moment, but a curse seemed like the best summary. When the Hover Cargo has jolted into motion below her, trailing after the speeding green Raynos in the sky, Leena had done her best to cling to cracks and not end up splattered on the ground below.

They stopped for the whirlwind rescue, her neck craned to spot the takeoff of the bird and the concurrent plunge through the sky before the white parachute fluttered free. The larger blimp didn't get thrown as wildly as Jamie, and when it shifted in the sky it reminded her of a barge on the sea, buffeted by large oceanic waves.

There was all the sky to fall into, but Jamie and the zeppelin found each other, dodging and dancing in a waltz. It wasn't long after that the green Raynos spiraled out of control, right in front of her eyes, and crashed out of sight, so far away that sound didn't catch. "Not again," she murmured. She didn't want to watch another person close to her heart not get up. She didn't want to feel this dread.

Dread, however, ignored her pleas for mercy. It kept her neck bent, searching the aurora for a speck of green. The wind swept dry heat around her shoulders and the entire desert brightened into gorgeous browns and blues as her senses became hyper-aware in her fixation. "Please, please..." But his bird didn't grace the skies.

—

"Leon, scoot over."

Her brother opened bleary eyes, but complied. While settling into part of the warm impression his body had left, he swung a heavy arm above her shoulders, pulling the covers over both of their heads. "Did you bring a flashlight for our tent?"

Leena smiled wanly, but her brother reached over for his clock, pulling it underneath with them, lighting both of their faces with a neon-plasma glow.

"So, bad dream?"

"I'm too old for nightmares."

His eyes crinkled, lines etching out an old weariness. "We never grow out of our basic fears."

She ducked her head quickly, tucking her hands beneath her chin and playing with her fingers. "Remember when you had mononucleosis and I thought you were turning into a vampire?" He made a small sound of acknowledgement because her eyes remained downcast. "That was stupid, wasn't it?" She began picking at the threads of his sheets.

"I blame myself for wearing plastic fangs to bed. I liked scaring you."

Her voice came out small and meek, and it was only for their cocoon that he heard her at all. "What if I said I was scared now?"

"I'd say that is a perfectly human response."

"But, what if…" Her eyes flickered upward, connected with his deep brown ones staring so fixedly at her, and suddenly she was struck with how safe she felt, hidden here with him. His face reminding her of what she'd already lost and was so ferociously afraid of losing again. The dam broke, and tears spilled from her lashes, dripping sideways to pool near her cheekbone. She sobbed, and Leon pulled her into her chest. "Mom never came back."

"I'm not going anywhere, Leena."

"Please just get better."

He threaded his fingers through the red hair that reminded him so much of his mother's, and tucked her head under his chin. "I'm not going to leave you."

Much later, after her sniffling had faded into hiccups and her cheeks had grown splotchy, Leon sat up, pushing her to arms length and leveling a look at her.

"Enough, now. Nothing is going to get me, you, or anyone else we care about. You know why?"

She blinked owlishly.

"We're the best Zoid team I've ever seen. And I've been places." He smirked until she cracked a smile. "If we have each others back, if our teams work together, nothing can break us."

—

_Nothing could break them._ "Jamie, after we save your sorry butt, I'll have to teach you a lesson about going solo."

Leena turned and leapt feet-first through the skylight and into the control room of the Hover Cargo. Oscar could be heard tramping through the hallway before he swung open the door shouting, "What in the blazes is going on outside?"

Dr. Toros had his display zoomed to the floating grey structure, doing his best to access different angles in order to find Jamie.

Oscar glanced at each of the occupants in the room before gaping back at the screen. "Is my son still up there?" A cold wave of alarm passed over him, and all niceties went to the wayside. He turned, enraged, towards his old friend, preparing to berate him for not bringing the young boy down earlier. A machine pinged to his left, and it distracted him enough to prevent a regrettable argument. Bit's face stared back at him, and Oscar frowned confusedly. "What are you doing?"

"Saving Jamie! What are you doing? Hurry up and let me mobilize!"

With an air of distraction, Oscar pushed the necessary keys before watching the Jager leap out into the desert. "He can't possibly do anything."

Dr. Toros shrugged from the main console. "He's Bit. He'll think of something."

And if that kid thought he could actually do something, then Oscar would be damned if he stood here and hoped. He slipped his goggles over his eyes and fixed his friend with a grim look. "Open the hatch, I need to mobilize the Phoenix."

**— **

The royal blue Liger sped across the desert and towards the slowly rotating blimp flying steadily downwards through the sky. Bit was unsure what exactly he could do to, but the option of catching Jamie was at least a possibility now. If he were lucky, he'd find a ramp that the Hover Cargo could park itself on and launch him upwards.

His comm-system blinked and Oscar's face appeared wreathed in static, the tenuous connection made possible due to proximity. The Jager veered left and the Fire Phoenix zoomed closer, filling up his peripheral vision with its fiery red. This close to the ground, if the magnetic waves threw the Phoenix out of equilibrium Oscar wouldn't have space or time to correct, and he would surely crash.

Before Bit had time to report such a fact, the aged aviator explained with a smirk. "Manual, with a…" As he spoke, the words suddenly pitched up in frequency, and Bit was unable to hear him over the sudden squeal in his speakers.

Clamping his hands over his ears, he shouted, "Liger, what…?" The beast's response was to takeover, accelerating the Jager forward to match the speeds he'd used against the Lightning Saix. The Zoid vibrated and shook violently, and Bit's teeth clamped down on his tongue, preventing him from asking any more questions.

Then the dashboard blew up with light. "Helic—"

—

"Mobilizing the Fire Phoenix!" Oscar shouted, propelling outward into the open air. Immediately, the craft spun a full three-hundred-and-sixty degrees, and he had to think fast before he spiraled straight into the ground. He caught sight of the blue Liger sprinting ahead, and he sped forward. A few dives and dips threw his heart into his throat, but overall he made progress. When finally approaching the Jager from the rear, he hailed the pilot using the old electronic systems.

He caught Bit's surprised look and clarified. "Manual, with a side of vectored thrust. I have you kids to thank for that."

Oscar's vid-screen lost contact as the Jager jolted forward, the ion boosters glowing bright and hot as they maximized their thrust output. Miffed, and needing Bit's help, Oscar accelerated within the Phoenix, the Zoid wobbling precariously without its usual stability setup.

Now he flew at breakneck speeds, the dunes beneath him hurtling past and the Jager a blue blur over his left shoulder; it took all of his effort to remain straight. Bit's voice came through the radio, and it was so loud and clear the boy could have been standing right next to him. "Oscar, eject!"

He realized it was a statement that he was supposed to answer with a resounding no, but Bit sounded so forceful that he took it as an order.

Oscar landed hard on his knees, the fiery red parachute collapsing around his shoulders. The father dug rapidly through the fabric and hurriedly glanced out towards his obscured son and the racing Phoenix and Jager.

He blinked in total bewilderment. He threw his gloves off and shoved his goggles onto his forehead to get a clearer view. He could hardly believe what began to happen before his eyes, much less comprehend it. "Helic—"

The blue armor flew from the Jager, scattering across the desert sand while the Liger Zero leapt upwards, appearing to almost hover midair. The Fire Phoenix dipped, its nose touching the Zoid, before a blinding level of light overtook the separate creatures.

When Oscar could see again, the Liger Zero was flying.

—

"Jamie! Jamie, wake up!"

"Bit?"

"Yes!" The blonde warrior adjusted the angle of the Phoenix using its thrusters, then quickly pivoted them downward as the Magnesser magnetic field became too weak. "Open your cockpit, and hurry! We can't stay airborne for much longer."

Jamie blinked again, his hands automatically finding the controls to steer before his brain consciously made the decision. "I'm not abandoning the Raynos; I've been through too much in this cussing bird."

The right wing crumpled beneath the flying Zoid's body, and the green paint adorning it chipped and pealed where the metal had cracked. Righting the Raynos for a semblance of takeoff required preparing to deploy three missiles, causing Jamie to tilt just enough to free his second thruster, which jetted him off the edge of the zeppelin in a downward parabola.

The Liger Zero Phoenix flew above him, because it had the lovely ability of variable thrust. Its descent was slower, but its pilot was nonetheless nervous as he struggled to remain upright while watching his friend plummet further away.

"You're falling like a rock!"

"Give me a second, I think I have an idea."

In the background, the zeppelin rent the air with a ferocious scream of metal as it slammed ungracefully into an unforgiving desert bluff. Despite the distraction, Jamie launched his armed projectiles into the nearest cloud, and then jettisoned the rest of his ammo. Junk dealers, Bit's old scavenging pals, would have a field day when they stumbled upon the cache that night.

Ground had a funny way of seeming plenty far away while airborne, but the skilled aviator knew enough about aeronautics to predict that there was precious little time left to save the Raynos from destruction. With a twist of his wrist, the green Zoid had flipped near vertical, and with more adjusting tilted slightly onto its back. Then, when Jamie activated his engines again, he was able to slow his descent while reducing his forward momentum with drag.

It was pure genius. Until the thrusters cut out…. "Helic." Jamie ran his fingers over the screen that suddenly sprouted mechanical gibberish at its pilot. "The air backflow caused an engine unstart. I'm gonna be landing hot, Doc."

And he couldn't use his control systems with any reliability at this slowed speed and with his crumpled wing. Secondly, he was too untrusting of the magnetic field to turn the Magnesser system back on—for all he knew it could put him into another spiral that he _definitely _couldn't escape. _Nyx_, this was a mess.

A roar split his speakers, and the Raynos jerked.

Above him, Bit and the Fusor latched the Liger's claws tighter around the underbelly of the green Zoid and wavered dangerously as the Fire Phoenix's thrusters tried desperately to adjust to the obstinate amount of weight it was unused to carrying. The Ultimate X's ton of metal was quite enough, thank you very much!

"You are one crazy kid, Jamie."

"They don't call me the Wild Eagle for nothing."

The blonde let out a bark of laughter before gritting his teeth. "Great. Now give me a crash course on how to land this amalgam."

. . .

Leena and Dr. Toros didn't breathe evenly until Bit, Jamie, and the captain had near crash-landed upon the desert floor. After picking up Oscar, the young girl, and the other passengers scattered around the desert, they joined the trio settled around the Liger Zero Phoenix and Raynos, Leena nearly leaping from the front door in order to run across the desert to sweep Jamie up into a bone-crushing hug.

Her father joined them a reasonable amount of time after, shaking hands with the salt-and-pepper haired pilot while introducing himself. "I didn't recognize your ship."

The pilot laughed, "It's a new invention. I was hoping to use it to compare a new Helium based hover program. We were testing it today."

"Unfortunately for air power, it's wrecked," Bit added gracelessly.

The man sighed sadly, but brightened when he saw his niece approaching. He pulled her into a tight grip, kissing the top of her head. "When I tell you to get to the life-kites, listen next time."

"I doubt she will," Jamie muttered sheepishly. "She's as stubborn as I am."

Toros swung an arm around the pilot's shoulders, pulling him away from the kids with a wicked smile. "You should tell me more about this Helium-powered flight. I've got a few friends back at the Academy who—" Their voices faded as they moved away, and the young girl, left behind, looked abashedly between Jamie and Leena.

"Hi."

"Er, hi." Jamie's gloved hand went to twist nervously at the black hair resting on the nape of his neck, and the young girl's reddish-brown pigtails fell further down to her elbows as she ducked her head in embarrassment.

Leena took this opportunity to squeal in abject glee, and had a minor cuteness attack. The aftershocks caused her to fling an arm around the two young teenagers and squeeze their heads closer to hers in a forced group hug.

"Little Lady, meet Jamie the Wild Eagle."

"My name isn't Little Lady," the young girl groused.

"You're never going to let me live that down, are you?"

"None of us ever will," Leena replied cheekily.

Jamie blushed, then grumbled under his breath. "Please leave and bother Bit or something."

The giddy redhead relaxed her grip, swiveling to view her father speaking techno-babble animatedly with the pilot while Bit looked on, chuckling awkwardly in complete confusion. "He does need my help. No surprise there." She danced a few steps away, before turning back with a wink. "Play nice!"

"How do I live with these people?!"

The girl giggled and wrapped her fingers around her long hair. Her mouth opened in preparation to speak, but her uncle called her attention away as he prepared to leave. Disappointment brushed her downturned mouth, and then a flicker of hesitation passed through her eyes. With a quick step she lunged forward, the words "thanks for saving me" tumbling out of her mouth, and her lips planted firmly and fleetingly on his cheek. Then she turned and scurried off after the aged man's shadow.

Jamie blushed bright crimson and brought a hand to his face, half embarrassed and half delighted. Of course, that quickly morphed into mortification as Leena hugged him around the middle—lifting his feet off the ground—as she squealed in girly excitement.

**. . .**

_A modern hero doesn't plan on being one. I don't think they can—or should. They become one on accident because of a delicate mixture of constantly striving at one hundred percent, an understanding of hardship that doesn't cloud their idealism, and the people that turn to them because they see that better than the uncertain champion ever would. _

_There is an extensive thread of responsibility that is suddenly woven into the fibers of your being, and I think I touched it today…for a moment. It was powerful, yet terrifying._

_Times are changing, and they force me to be more in control and more independent every day, but I'm still young enough to need a hero, and maybe that's okay…_

Jamie tapped the ballpoint pen against his chin, his expression pensive.

The upper catwalk inside the hangar had always been a good place for him to meditate, but Bit didn't catch on to Jamie's desire for alone time. The blonde jogged to the higher levels excitedly before skidding to a halt behind the young boy. "Writing poems?"

Jamie flushed, stuffing the letter into his pocket. "What do you want?" Before his words ended, Bit was grinning, his green eyes alight.

"Remember when you did a barrel-roll this morning? You have _got _to show me how to do that!"

The Ultimate X pilot hopped around, egging the youth on by tugging at his sleeves. Jamie eventually heaved a self-deprecating sigh and gave in, following his teammate to the lower levels. Bit's enthusiasm began to rub off, and soon Jamie was just as inwardly pleased as him.

And although Leon remained mysteriously sick, and Brad sat sullen in the Blitz's common room, and his mother would never be around to help, Jamie realized they were all alright. Regardless if he was someone's hero or not, together they would always beat the odds, and that was enough for now.

. . .

_Next time on Zoids:_

_"Naomi Fleugal speaking. I'm sure everyone has a thorough understanding of my feelings on the matter, but Brad appears to not be listening. When Leena decides to become too nosy for her own good, I have to take matters into my own hands. I'm my own person, and I make my own decisions. They all need to understand that! Next time on Zoids:_ _The Taurus—Brad's Battle of the Brawn. Brains are not included in this arena!__ Ready? Fight!"_

* * *

><p><strong>Jamie <strong>is a badass, but Bit is the hero. This needs to be re-established. There is something about him that makes him better than others. I want to mention that the Wild Eagle is _not _gone. This chapter is meant to show Jamie taking the steps into maturing into a pilot that can be as awesome as the Wild Eagle without actually needing the alter ego. That would be a long process though, and he still has a lot of growing up to do!

Aerial scenes and vector thrust and ion boosters…just loved writing the action this chapter. I also noticed Jamie probably has a severe concussion etc., or is at least bleeding, but acts perfectly fine once he's on the ground. :shifty eyes: discontinuity… And, since I know it wasn't clear because Jamie was highly out of it when Bit showed up, the salt-and-pepper zeppelin pilot eventually made it into the Liger Zero Phoenix. Heroic shenanigans might have been afoot but they didn't make it into this fic.

Do you like 'life-kites'? They sound awesome.

I added Leena's segment with Leon after the first draft. It suddenly struck me how to say what I wanted to say and I liked writing it. Plus, might as well get a mom chapter in :P In the first draft, Jamie's mom was dead too, but after I started thinking about how I was portraying Oscar, I realized it was plausible that Ms. Hemeros moved out. I said he was a ladies man in college, and I think she could have gotten upset with his flirtatious ways.

In another sudden path that surprised myself: Brad doesn't like Oscar. I think he sort of sees him as a bad father for abandoning Jamie for so long with the Blitz Team. (Referencing canon…Brad completely thought Oscar was dead, which proves that Oscar and Jamie had not had contact for at least the time that Brad had joined the team.) I have a timeline of this sort of stuff in my head.

And d'aw. OCs for Jamie. I loved everyone's depth of character this chapter. Some of it was previously planned, but I made the effort to dwell on sorrow a little longer, thanks to Oracle in Vayne's comment. It ended up with a chapter that I absolutely loved reading. It feels depressing and hopeful and a little bit epic at the same time.

What did you think about the first ever fusing Zoid moment? I know it was probably obvious to some of you that it would happen eventually, but I think I still surprised you here, right? I figured I _had_ to give the Liger a new armor system, but I didn't want to make one up as usually happens in fics, so voila. Fuzors. And it's awesome. And just in time for S-class :P I wanted to name it Fluger, 'flight' in German, but I'll stick with canon.

**Disclaimer**: I own life-kites. I named the ZAA after the real-world FAA. The Liger Zero Phoenix is from Fuzors!

**Reviews: **Much to say as usual. TLDR version: Leon, Br/N, how comments effect plotlines, haunted houses, brothers,

Firstly I just want to mention how happy I am that everyone enjoyed Leon and his brotherly moments, and that you found his cursing believable, and that you all related to it in a different way. He was a blast to write like that! And of course the whole 'threes-a-crowd' thing was the most fun from his perspective.

TheDragooner, Brad and Naomi got into a huge argument this chapter! I'm interested in seeing what you have to say about that. When considering Stoller/Sanders/Pierce making it into this fic, and your comment afterwards, it does remind me that I don't _have_ to include everything a reader asks. However, I do try if it's possible. I would never include something that broke the plotline though. Besides, I don't consider recommendations/hopes by readers 'requirements' but more as inspiration. Sometimes someone says something offhand, and I'm like THAT'S A GREAT IDEA. But back to the point of the ex-Backdraft members...I've decided what I'm going to do with them. I'll say that one of them will not be returning to this story. Dunge, I'm glad to make you 'extremely pleased'! I hoped the Bio's would 'step up' the haunted house trope, and I think I succeeded. I've always only had a younger brother, and we've been good friends, so I can't actually relate to Leon's interference! But good luck to you with your brothers! Randomcat23, glad I scared you with the Bio's chasing Leena! (Mwahaha). And Harry is Frakenstein's monster isn't he? Loud, crazy, but slightly lovable. I'm really glad you enjoy my head canon, I sometimes worry I am boring the reviewers when I wax on about it. I mention a little bit of Brad and Jamie head canon here; hopefully believable! You're right that Brad was a little too clueless; hopefully fixed that up this chapter.

And...new reviewer! Laughingfox31, unfortunately it's too late into the plotline of this story for me to include something like Leena's mom coming back to life. Hopefully the 'mom' segments within this chapter can scratch that itch for you. But, I think it's an interesting idea for a oneshot, so I'll include it in a list for possible 'future works.' 'Rising from the dead' is going to be a tough plot device to make plausible however.

**Finally, **that's all for my rambling. My favorite part is hard for me to pick this time. It might be the juxtaposition between Bit already ready to mobilize and save Jamie before Oscar has really wrapped his head around it.


	20. Episode 20

Episode Twenty

_The Taurus—Brad's Battle of the Brawn_

_"Area scanned"_

It was a beautiful day for a battle. Actually, if you asked anyone from the Blitz team, they'd say that about any day. Nevertheless, the sky was blue, the day was warm, and everyone was in good health.

"I call Leon," Naomi drawled from her position atop her Gustav's trailer.

"Jamie," Brad replied, plucking the aviator from the pot. He'd be difficult for the sniper to shoot, and that would only help his case.

Naomi looked over at the two remaining pilots. Bit was attempting to slip inconspicuously out of view, obviously more interested in being on Brad's team so he could face Leon. "Bit."

"Drat," the blonde mourned, coming to stand beside the Red Comets as Leena's fists clenched tighter.

"This is the second time I've been last picked; you all trying to say something?!" She stomped over to Brad, prodding him with a finger. "Luckily for you, I've got the only mid-ranged combat Zoid here."

"Brad will need more than luck to beat me," Naomi smirked.

"Naomi will need to do more than hide behind two Liger pilots to beat us," he replied to Leena while fiercely staring down the sniperess.

Jamie chuckled nervously, trying to placate them with an offbeat smile. "I'd hardly call it _hiding…_"

"True," Brad continued relentlessly, "it's more like skulking."

Naomi leapt upright onto the bed of her Gustav, her fingers itching at the metal armor of her Zoid. "I'd like to apologize in advance, everyone, for sniping through the glass of that mercenary's cockpit."

"I'd like to see you try," he growled in response, swiveling on his heel and heading towards the interior of the Hover Cargo.

The four remaining Zoid pilots looked on uncomfortably, finally raising their eyes from their previously incredibly interesting shoes.

"When two people love each other very much—" Bit began jokingly, getting pinched in his side by an annoyed Jamie for his troubles.

"I think we should let them duke it out," Leena grinned.

"You would say that," Bit replied with a roll of his eyes.

A wave of sand followed, and the Shadowfox landed in their midst with a screech. The external speakers activated, and Brad growled out the beginnings of a judge satellite's usual tirade. His mouth set in a grim line, Leon said, "Let's go keep them from killing each other."

The four bopped away into their Zoids, Leena setting up her Gunsniper alongside the Shadowfox while Jamie gained altitude in the Raynos. Bit leapt into the Jager, running a few laps around Leon as the Blade Liger mobilized. When Brad finally hit the iconic words: "Ready? Fight!" Leena let out a cloud of ammo towards the two Ligers. They both dodged, and then Bit swiveled to head-butt the red Liger in the side.

"What in the name of Zoid Eve do you think you're doing?" Leon yelled, barely avoiding Leena's next assault due to the stumble he'd taken.

"I changed my mind; let's let the lovebirds fight it out." The Jager accelerated again, getting behind the wild Zoid and snapping at its ankles. Leon whirled, but the blue Liger had already activated its boosters and had jetted off and away from the battlefield. "Too slow!" Bit shouted back, soon followed by a halting growl—known to be the Liger Zero's chuckle. Even if Leon had another opinion on the matter, the wild Liger snarled in return and sprinted after the laughing pair.

Leena's ungainly Zoid turned in confusion, watching the two pilot's leave. "Just where do those two think they're going?" With the secession of the two Ligers, Brad stepped up his game plan as well, making quickly for the rocks that Naomi's Gunsniper was indubitably hiding within. "And where are _you_ going?!" Leena continued, skipping her Zoid forward in an effort to catch up. "You're breaking formation!"

A whistle, and then a lone bullet tore through the hip joint of Leena's Gunsniper. She yelled in surprise as she stumbled, but before Naomi could completely finish her off, Jamie blanketed the rocks in a deluge of ammunition, giving Leena enough time to escape backwards.

"I'll stay back and surprise Leon and Bit if they come in range," she offered, Jamie nodding in response as he circled overhead, searching for both the Shadowfox and sniper.

Naomi was having just as difficult a time locating her enemy. Hidden amidst the rocks, she had a limited viewing range that left her vulnerable to Brad's attacks. _My teammates were supposed to make up for that_, she thought with a grimace, _but they've gallivanted off into the desert_. Jamie wouldn't be too much of a problem if she could just draw him far enough downward, and Leena was predictably useless.

Knowing the Shadowfox was likely searching her out, she ducked away from her sniping position and leapt down into a small crevasse. Brad would have to round the corner to get her, and then it all came down to whom had the twitchiest finger. She rolled onto her stomach inside her tail-unit and prepared to wait.

Brad knew Naomi well, and thus he knew her battling style well. He knew she'd be higher up on the rocks sniping out Leena and Jamie, so he remained low, weaving through boulders as he cleared areas. His Shadowfox operated in full stealth mode—near invisible to radar, with all external systems turned off to reduce electromagnetic wave noise—and he assisted the faceted design by always keeping his nose pointed towards the most open areas.

Thus it was with great surprise, both to him and to her, when the Shadowfox leapt right past Naomi's hiding spot and both pilots caught a glimpse of the enemy Zoid through their tinted glass. Naomi fired, but the Shadowfox's tail was already safe and out of her sight. To draw him out, she hailed him through their comm-link, but he didn't answer. The fox's beacon remained invisible to her, and soon everything else was as well.

A wave of smoke rolled in, filling the dried crack within the earth and obscuring her vision with dense grey smog. She felt more than saw him coming, and fired three shots into the blur, hoping for a hit. Its jaws flew out moments later, grasping ahold of her Gunsniper's tail and careening them both into the dirt-packed wall. She rotated quickly into her forward controls, firing at his rear-end in an odd sort of yin-yang. She had never been so thankful to Leena's continual pressure for, and excessive knowledge of, mounted automatics in her life.

Stealth no longer needed, Brad answered her summons with a grim line etched across his mouth. "Give up; I've beaten you."

"You'll _never _defeat me."

Then, a large gust of wind, and the Wild Eagle landed on the rock above them, looking sternly down his bird's green nose. "Give it up, you two. This battle was over before it started, and it has been such a bore."

He glared down at the two fighters, and they disengaged, eyeing each other and the Raynos warily. "It's over when _I _say it's over," Naomi replied.

The Raynos clicked and whirred, two torpedoes lowering into its firing bay. The Wild Eagle cocked his head, and the tenor of his voice sank deeper. "Then perhaps this battle _has_ gotten interesting."

. . .

Much later in the evening, Jamie sat by sheepishly as Brad layered a new icepack onto the lump atop his head. Bit cackled nearby about Brad needing to 'cool off' anyways. The mercenary continued to ignore them both, propping his feet onto the table between the blue couches, and crossing his banded arms steadfastly. The grey-eyed youth eventually gave up on apologizing and slipped away; Bit, however, did not see the light. Instead, he sidled up to the elder pilot and swung an arm around his shoulders.

"Oh, I get it," Bit grinned. "You fell head over heels for her."

A blue cushion swung across the gap and nailed Bit right across the face. "I need to fix the Shadowfox."

"Hey! That was a good joke."

"Dr. Toros has better punch-lines," Brad replied before the sliding doors closed behind him.

Bit crossed his arms grouchily. "I'm funnier than Doc."

—

The mess the Shadowfox was in made him cringe. Armor-piercing bullets had tore through his rear leg, and Jamie's torpedoes had scorched the entire underbelly of his Zoid, not to mention the sand that was sure to be found in every single crevice.

It was a large task ahead of him, and thus he began by steadily removing all of the armor along the chest. Repairing the Shadowfox was bound to take all night, but sleep had eluded him recently anyways, so might as well be productive.

He had spent countless nights in the cargo unit rebuilding Naomi's Gunsniper's vertebrae after Polta's Pillbug had smashed through her. Wet sanding them for the red paintjob had been the largest pain in his rear-end, but Naomi had livened up the atmosphere.

_"I found it!"_

Naomi leapt down from the staircase of Liger Zero armor crates, wielding a small handheld tool. Brad raised his head, popping his aching fingers as he eyed her. "The automatic sander?"

She nodded, skipping up to their worktable and began fastening on a rough grit. Naomi rubbed one slender finger along the face of metal Brad had been polishing, then set upon their third and last vertebrae. She grinned as the shine began to come through. "Just another way I'm making men obsolete." She pursed her lips and tried to blow away the excess material. "Where's your water?"

"Right here," he answered, and tipped an entire bucket over her head.

She spluttered, her done-up red hair hanging lank around her shoulders. "I can't believe you just did that."

"Me neither. I should get some proof." He made a show of looking around. "Now where's that other bucket?"

Brad wasn't embarrassed to admit they had both run around like children for long after that—trying to soak the other more thoroughly. With no doubt, competitiveness ran through their blood. He didn't even regret shivering in his sopping wet clothes in the wee hours of the morning—because when they'd finished the last coat of paint, Naomi had let him pull her close and steal a—

A large rifle bullet landed on his skull with a _plonk_ and he rubbed at the ever-increasing lump on his head. Right. Naomi was mad—furious—with him, and it was highly unlikely he'd be stealing anything nice from her ever again. Especially not after their most recent argument. Coffee had almost gone well, and then she had stormed away, each of them calling the other names that still burned in his mind. Recalling a few even made his blood boil.

He growled and kicked the bullet harshly; it flew clear across the room and Leena had to duck to avoid it. The metal pinged harmlessly in the hallway. She stared at him a little wide-eyed, and he glowered back, muttering obscenities under his breath.

With an excessive slowness, Leena stepped away and let the hanger door close, then tip-toed down the hall. Years ago, when Leon had first recruited Brad to the Blitz, she and Jamie had played many a game of who could surprise the Big Bad Wolf first. They had always failed, but never in their time had Brad every looked at her with such menace. Nor had anyone ever had the gall to kick a bullet at her head! _I'm going to have to do something about this._ Quickly, however, she was reminded of the glare he'd thrown her way and shivered. _But perhaps without him knowing it was me._

_— _

Leena walked in, drumming her fingers in a steeple and looking very contemplative. "Bit!" She turned him around in his chair, "We have got to do something about this!"

Now, this discrete redhead gracing his room at these hours of the night was not a particularly normal occurrence. In the same breath however, it was not particularly abnormal. "Please come in. Would you care for a seat?"

She ignored his comments, instead choosing to flop onto his bed, curling together on his covers and altogether distracting him from what he was probably supposed to be thinking about.

"Can you believe Brad was so out of sync in today's skirmish? We can't let this little tiff he's in with Naomi ruin our reputation. We're S Class!"

"Wait, could you repeat that?"

She leaned up, confused, folding her arms under her breasts and peering at him. "Let's make a plan to get them together. If I have to hear another melodramatic sigh I'm going to be sick." She twisted her body slightly, sliding one of her legs underneath his pillow while her hip jutted out provocatively.

"Are you sure you don't want to sit in this chair?"

She got a very Leena-esque expression on her face, one containing excessive and unneeded emotion. Very martyr-like. "I'm being serious, Bit! I would ask Jamie since he's so good at these master plans, but recently he's been blush-y and awkward about these sorts of topics. Please?"

She pouted and he looked away. Seriously people, he was in his _boxers _for Zi's sake. "I assume because you were flouncing around with this act." He got up and threw an extra blanket over her. "Okay, let's figure something out."

"What was this for!?" She questioned loudly, in case she needed to be angry about it.

"You looked cold."

. . .

The next morning came bright and early, and most occupants of the Hover Cargo were particularly groggy. Jamie, however, fell more on the alert side of the spectrum, and thus was conscripted into cooking up a batch of bacon.

"Do the satellites seem a little off to anyone else?" Dr. Toros asked as he came into the room in his trademark labcoat, despite the early hour.

"I was unable to plot their flight paths last night," Bit replied seriously, as if satellite arrangements were a hobby of his.

"I wouldn't be surprised if they've had errors since the storm. Why?" Jamie sat down at the table with his healthy breakfast, taking time to slap hands away that tried to nab bits of it.

"We ended up fifty miles east of New Helic City. If Brad hadn't woken me up with a ton of clanging in the hangar, we would have missed orientation!"

"Is that today?" Bit asked excitedly, instantly awake and chomping on a strip of bacon.

"Yes, in fact," the doctor spent a minute looking at various clocks in the room, "it's in less than an hour!" He leapt from the table, patting down his pockets and rapidly searching through the kitchen cabinets. "Where is that file with all the papers?"

"I hope you don't mean the green one that Bit spilled his cereal on yesterday," Brad said.

Dr. Toros' eyes widened and he paled. Just before a potential heart attack occurred, Leena walked into the lounge with a pink binder. She held it up and raised an eyebrow. "On the first day of competition, you will all address me as 'My Queen.'" All three boys opened their mouth to protest, and she immediately leveled a finger at them. "Let it be known that I've ordered a guillotine."

In the meantime, Dr. Toros wrested the pink binder from his daughter's hands and hugged it closely to his chest. "I'm going to go make our first impression on our new competition. I'll make them so nervous; they won't sleep for a week!" Dr. Toros squealed giddily and slipped out of the room. "I can't wait to see their Zoids!"

Bit sweatdropped. "They're going to drastically underestimate us."

Jamie drank his juice, sharing a look of agreement. "At least it'll give us an advantage."

The pout-of-being-ignored-too-long began to form on Leena's face, so Bit turned imploring eyes to her. "Can't we go with your father instead?"

"No!" She yanked his ear down to her level. "We have much more important things to take care of." Then she marched the two of them out of the Hover Cargo as well, Bit whining plaintively the entire way.

This left Jamie disparately glancing around the room as Brad made no attempt to rise from the couches. "Planning on staying here?" Receiving a gruff reply in the affirmative, Jamie slid onto a plush blue cushion next to the mercenary and focused melancholy grey eyes at the floor. "I suppose I'm staying too then, it'll be easier to avoid that entire eighteen-and-over issue…"

Brad sighed long-sufferingly, but flicked Jamie in the forehead as he passed him to trace the path of his fellow teammates. Jamie responded with a silent fist-pump and followed him out, racing ahead to avoid the middle seat in the jeep.

. . .

New Helic City was quite gorgeous, actually. It had the appropriate political structures, but the sprawling businesses and high-end apartments gave the capitol city an energetic vibe. _Things happened here_ the sidewalks seemed to say.

The Blitz and Fluegel teams stood on the lawn of the ZBC's offices, Bit still staring a little forlornly after Dr. Toros.

"It's just paperwork," Leon reassured him.

Leena kicked the blonde in the knee, and he yelped, "Is Brad's suffering not good enough for you?"

Naomi overheard the diatribe's beginning, and, not wanting to hear what part she'd play in it, turned and primly strode away. Brad's eyes flickered as he watched her leave, then his shoulders sagged as he gave in and followed after her.

"Tell her we're meeting up at the Plaza at noon!" Leena shouted at Brad's back. She swiveled, an angry flush on her cheeks, and prodded Bit in the chest. "You were supposed to do the lunch invitation."

He threw up his hands in exasperation, shouting back, "I can't remember all of your details!"

—

"Hey there Red, name's Red."

"Excuse me?"

He planted a kiss on the back of her hand, quirking an eyebrow. "They call me 'Red Bull'. I'm pleased to finally make the acquaintance of the infamous sniper of the Red Comets."

Chivalry had always made Naomi queasy, and the saliva drying on the back of her hand was no exception. In front of her a man with about five inches on her stood and grinned. A gold ring hanging through the center of his nose immediately caught her attention, as if he took fashion advice from a bull.

And, ah, the nickname made sense.

"Please, let me get you a drink."

A hand on the small of her back led her to a barstool, and soon she was letting him order dual vodka-tonics. She didn't plan on staying long, but the drinks were free after all—and, by the Empire, she had needed one these past few weeks.

Just as she was beginning to get a good hum between the alcohol and the regaling of a particular battle by Red Bull, her blissfully ignorant buzz flew out the door and waved goodbye.

Brad replaced it, and he didn't look happy. In fact, he looked slightly hurt, and it made her cringe.

Before she could formulate a strategy, male posturing began occurring right in front of her face, and, to her utmost annoyance, she found herself powerless to stop the waves of testosterone. A firm handshake with a bone-crunching grip occurred, and judgmental glares focused on particular piercings and tattoos were traded.

"You're the Shadowfox pilot, as I recall."

"And you are?"

"Just a humble admirer."

The Red Bull smiled a cheshire grin, and Brad invited himself to the bar where Naomi sat, saying, "so pleased to meet you," with a healthy dose of sarcasm. The Red Bull re-took his seat without losing eye contact with the mercenary, and they continued their thinly veiled argument over wooden paneling.

"I was just rehashing a particularly fabeled story of mine from my Guardian Force days. Does the Metal Cave of Northern Zi ring any bells?"

"Haven't heard of it."

"Not surprising considering your previous line of work. Though, I applaud you for your victory in the recent tournament. The Force found it entertaining." Brad's scowl found a way to furrow farther, and the Red Bull flashed a cheesy grin at Naomi, who had not shifted the frown marring her pretty features for quite some time. "I bet a ride on my taurus would cheer you up."

"Say that again and I'll put you into early retirement!" Brad slammed his fist on the counter, jittering ice cubes in glasses several feet away.

"I've nicknamed my Zoid 'The Taurus'." Red Bull raised an eyebrow archly. "What did you think I meant?"

As Brad ground his teeth, Naomi let out a hiss of breath through her nose. "I think I will take that ride with you," she pronounced, and then gracefully left the scene, as was her way.

The Red Bull stood after her, propping his hands on his hips victoriously. "I think I'll take her out West." He gave Brad one last taunting look, his nose ring grimy and glinting in the halogen lights. "If you'd like to watch the sunset with us, follow the railroad, Dorothy."

. . .

"Bit, can you please not eat when our master plan is taking place?"

"Yes, overlord." He replied and handed the menu back to the waitress that stood nearby awaiting their order.

Jamie took a sip of his water and Leon cast an amused glance at his sister. "What is this master plan of which you speak?"

"If we order, and Brad and Naomi get here, then we're stuck until we get a check. Then the whole point of leaving them alone together gets ruined!"

Leon slung an arm around Leena, smirking, "You're playing sneaky matchmaker I see. If I can't ensnare a girl, remind me to hire you."

"I'm basically the goddess of love," she sniffed.

Jamie quirked an eyebrow. "I don't think they're going to fall madly in love just because they eat lunch together."

"That's why I'm going to 'accidentally' leave these movie tickets on the table." Leena made air-quotes with her fingers and brandished the slim laminations.

Jamie leaned across the table. "Why am I here, then? What is my role in this plan?"

"After they get here we all start making excuses to leave," Bit answered, mashing the lemon in his glass with a straw.

Leon laughed. "Something like: hey Jamie, weren't you going to show me those schematics for the Blade Liger's aerodynamics?"

"Yeah," the young aviator replied, standing up. "And there's that deli down the street that we could grab some food from."

"Sounds great," Leon said, heaving himself upright and walking out of the diner with Jamie in tow.

"Hey, not yet!" Leena shouted as the door swung closed behind them. She flushed as she realized she'd been tricked, and crossed her arms in a huff. "Stupid older brother."

Bit laughed at her and kicked at her foot from under the table. "Since the plan has gone awry anyway, can we order now?"

. . .

Due to Dr. Toros currently being tied up with paperwork, Brad had to mobilize his Zoid, manually close the garage door behind himself, and then slink through the streets as the Shadowfox. Once he located the railroad tracks, he followed them as per instruction until he saw a medium-sized Zoid and Naomi standing nearby with crossed arms. As the Shadowfox entered the parking lot of what appeared to be an abandoned mall, Naomi turned her annoyance in his direction, but he easily ignored it. Right now his problem was with the Red Bull, not with her.

Red Bull turned his Zoid towards the approaching stealth-machine, his Taurus-type Cannonfort pawing the ground. Its armor was painted red, no surprise, and an iron ring plaited with gold hung from its snout to match its pilot. Two long curved horns arched from the top of its head, acting as a line of defense to the nose ring that Brad would have loved to rip right out.

"I didn't realize you were such an old timer," Brad taunted, referencing the old Cannonfort design.

"Funny, I was perfectly aware you had to rely on high-tech gadgets to win a fight," Red Bull responded. "But here in this lot there's nowhere to hide."

"I might surprise you then." And the smoke canisters activated, spewing a dense cloud of smoke over the backwater battlefield. He waited twenty seconds to give time for his cover to settle and Naomi to find a safer vantage point to look down her nose at them.

Then he fired. The Cannonfort was clear on his radar and there was no doubt about his hit. However, the Vulcan probably wouldn't do much to the relatively tough armor of the taurus. Built like a miniature Dibison, it really was the perfect blend between tank and agility, and the dual pulse laser guns mounted on its back were something he'd definitely have to avoid. If he was lucky, he'd be able to use his momentary status quo to get a good hit on that weaponry.

After Brad had initially shot, the Cannonfort had started running, and now he chased after it knowing he had precious seconds before the collective turbulence cleared the smoke.

Twenty feet away and the smoke thinned, and the Cannonfort was confusedly running head first towards him. Brad had no choice but to leap—charging the Strike Laser Claw in the process to bring down on the Beam Launcher.

But the Taurus bucked, its horns suddenly glowing a bright yellow, and the charged skewers just barely avoided shaving off the Shadowfox's stomach armor as he twisted through them. Unfortunately for Brad, his momentum was then completely thrown off, and he crashed into the Cannonfort's hind-quarters, effectively smashing his enemy's small machine gun and toppling unceremoniously to the ground.

"It's called a Beam Horn attack. You should have done your homework."

The horns charged and stabbed, but Brad rolled away in the nick of time. He immediately swiveled the Vulcan and created his own cover fire as he gained distance. Pulse laser shots followed close behind—obliterating craters of asphalt. Helic. The Cannonfort was actually a well-made blend of long range, defense, and agility. The last thing he wanted to do was call the Red Bull smart, but it appeared he'd have to concede the compliment. But losing was still unacceptable.

. . .

Leena continued giggling and pushed her empty plate out of the way. "There is no way a Deadborder could do that. It's physically impossible."

"Zi had a lot of surprises." Bit grinned back.

"If those were the bedtime stories you heard as a kid, then no wonder you turned out this way."

"What way? Awesome?" He leapt from the booth and slipped outside before she could contest him, and he was halfway down the street before Leena caught up to him with a hint of confusion on her face.

"We can't leave yet, we have to wait for Brad and Naomi."

"Leena, I hate to break it to you, but Mr. and Mrs. Hunter will not be joining us. They're skipping their own party."

Her face sunk a little in disappointment. "But I heard that Commander Altail admitted his undying love for his prison warden after watching this movie."

Bit raised his eyebrows with incredulity. "That sounds like a really good reason to avoid it."

"Maybe you're right," she sighed, deflating.

"You're serious about this matchmaker business, aren't you?" Bit glanced around, before pointing at a dark-haired woman standing near them at a small shop called _A Botanist's Delight. _She was holding a mangled bouquet and looked altogether woebegone. "How about we perform a random act of kindness?"

He dropped an arm around his fellow teammates' shoulders and half dragged her forward until her hand brushed the handle of the boutique's ornate black door. She let Bit grab the tickets from the waistband of her skirt.

"Excuse me, ma'am," Bit said, donning his cocky pilot persona with ease, "we got busy. Why don't you use these tickets so they don't go to waste?" He held them out, and when she didn't take them, he tucked them betwixt two wilting tulips.

She stared back at them dolefully.

"Great!" He steered them away. "Now, don't you feel much better?"

She puffed a breath of air through her cheeks and blew her bangs out of her eyes. "I guess."

He shook his head slowly and a small smile of amusement snuck onto his face. "Don't use this against me later, but it's cute how much you want those two to get together."

She raised her eyebrows. "I'm going to use it against you."

. . .

The battle continued, but not in Brad's favor. Red Bull was perfectly content to stand in one spot and continually take potshots at the Shadowfox. _At this rate, the sun will set and I'll be able to switch back to stealth tactics._ Brad snorted. _And then what? Get ripped apart by a Beam Horn attack?_

"I can do this forever, you know," Red Bull taunted. "I've got more battery packs for my cannon than I know what to do with." He fired another two beams from his twin-barreled gun, and they landed just off of the Shadowfox's heels.

Brad had no problem avoiding the shots at this distance and with his Zoid's speed. However, the Vulcan would never finish the battle either. If he wanted to win he had to get closer, and he didn't need Jamie the tactician to tell him that.

Then, suddenly, after thirty minutes of destroying the parking lot, the battle suddenly shifted and the Red Bull charged. The Cannonfort's head was down, its horns long and deadly ahead of it. With no ability to attack in a frontal assault, Brad tried to dodge left, but the Beam Cannon fired, forcing him to swivel and sprint in the other direction. Brad had just enough time to think, _he's trying to pen me in, but that's near impossible in this giant lot_, before he found himself relatively squished between a rock and a hard place. More literally, this meant between the Cannonfort and an old concrete face of the mall.

What Red Bull was blissfully unaware of was the Shadowfox's capability of escaping. Brad decided to ham it up to turn it into an advantage. The subsequent drama was just an unfortunate side effect.

"None besides myself have ever caught the Shadowfox."

"Don't blame the beast," Red Bull smirked, "it's mostly your fault." The Beam Cannon lowered, rested on the crown of the taurus' head, and glowed red as it charged. "I wonder what a Shadowfox's guts look like."

"You'll wonder for the rest of your life," Brad replied, activating his boosters and near sailing onto the barrel of the beam gun. His Laser Claw attack sunk into the dense metal, and the discharge between his strike and the malfunctioning cannon blew his light Zoid head over heels and onto the tracks.

Perplexingly, the Red Bull said, "Just where I wanted you."

Then—a whistle of wind, the blare of a horn, and the tracks shook beneath him. _A train was coming._

Brad wasted a precious second righting the Shadowfox, and then leapt vertical, straining the power supplied to its legs. He did not land gracefully. The train screamed beneath him, and the speed of the carriages made an almost impossible catch for his Zoid's feet. The moment he touched it, he was tumbling, rolling over the hood of train cars in a dizzying spin. Passengers hoping for a fun night in the big city stuck their heads out of windows and gaped.

Finally, when Brad was contemplating vomiting into his boot, the Shadowfox hit a chimneystack and stopped. Time was wasted as the train carried further away from the battlefield and Naomi, and with that thought, Brad shook his head and held the nausea down, standing the Shadowfox upright. The scenery blew past him, and he suddenly understood why Cisco was so partial to his Lightning Saix.

Regardless, he had a battle to win. Brad sprinted atop the train, trying to pick up as much speed as possible before he leapt, landing back in front of the Red Bull, who was laughing uncontrollably. "That went a little too perfectly, even for me."

Brad didn't care what the man thought. His Fox was running straight at the enemy, as it always should have. When the Red Bull realized his danger, widening his eyes and trying to charge his horns, Brad tucked his head and slid, powersliding beneath the belly of the Cannonfort and firing his Vulcan straight up into its chest.

He slid ten feet beyond the tail of the taurus before it exploded.

Red Bull was cursing, passengers were snapping pictures, and Brad realized belatedly that Cannonforts all held ammo pouches in their underbody for the Force's extended missions.

—

Not one to stick around and watch the aftermath between Red Bull and the cops whom had likely been called, Brad padded away on his beaten up Shadowfox until he found Naomi leaning against one of the mall's concrete sides. He stopped and exited, walking the rest of the distance and blocking her view of the shabby scenery.

Naomi gave him a long look, and Brad stuffed his hands in his pockets and let her. The day was getting late, and with the setting sun came cool breezes that kissed the sweat from his skin. The aftermath of the battle and the breeze made his outgrown hair a tangled mess, but he made no move to correct it—content to let her stand there and judge him for however long it took. Finally her light-colored eyes flicked down to her shoes, then back up to meet his.

"I skipped lunch for this," she sighed, "I'm starving."

He turned his back and walked away, leaving Naomi standing alone until he returned in the Shadowfox. When the cockpit opened she remained unmoving, questioning her resolve, then climbed up to perch on the edge. The tinted glass remained unclosed as the Shadowfox began to plod back the way it came, counting rungs in the train tracks while Brad and Naomi focused on the cooling circulation of air. Naomi's position was likely dangerous, but the Zoid jounced slowly, and she kept a firm grasp on her perilous seat.

"I'm going to get very frustrated with you if you insist on battles for my honor."

Brad kept his concentration glued to the path before him, keeping steady hands on the forward levers. After a long silence he responded, "I've chased you for weeks now. There isn't much left for me to say."

"Not like I'm much for talking anyway."

"Which is why I don't understand why you let a guy like him pick you up," Brad ground out, an edge of annoyance in his voice. "Because on the other hand, you have me, someone who really cares about what happens to you, and you barely let me into your life."

"You're a mercenary, Brad, can't you relate with how hard it is to give up your independence?"

"Of course. But I gave that up years ago—when Leena and Jamie put salt in my coffee and then giggled for days about it."

Naomi couldn't help the quirk of her lips. "Mr. Hunter, are you trying to say you're some sort of family man?"

He immediately snorted, and in the weirdest way it brought a full-fledged smile to her face.

She stood suddenly, "It's getting a little chilly." Then with three confident steps, she moved from her seat-apart and slipped into his lap.

Brad had yet to spare her more than a glance, but a bright red blush spread easily to his cheeks, and she found she could forgive him for being so dense. "My life will change drastically, but maybe that's okay. Besides," she tilted his head toward her with a few fingers on his chin, a twinkle in her eye, "how could I pass up someone so handsome?"

He smirked. "The next time you feel like breaking up with me, remember that I blew up a Cannonfort."

And since Naomi cared more for actions, she pulled him the rest of the way into a kiss. Brad wasted no time in pulling her closer, and a spare thought reached out to press the button to finally seal the cockpit.

. . .

Jamie and Leon were sitting in a waiting room. There was a table, a water fountain, and a woman in the corner holding a baby and looking sad. There was also a flat screen television running a list of names, and next to those names was a crime and the price of bail. It made Jamie feel tough, so he was chuckling when Red Bull finally exited the heavy metal door leading from the prison. The jailbird scowled at the youth and Jamie immediately clammed up.

He stalked up to the chairs Jamie and Leon sat in, clenching his fist around a property bag holding his nose ring and wallet. "My Zoid is totaled."

"I warned you," Leon replied with a smirk.

"I've been arrested for brawling and destruction of property."

"We paid for your entire ticket instead of just bail."

"I just want my money."

Leon and Jamie exchanged glances, and then Leon handed the man a ten-dollar bill. "That's all that's left."

Red Bull clenched his eyes tightly shut and seemed to internally yell at himself for a moment.

"Naomi is my partner. Could you tell me what happened to her?"

Red Bull snatched the money and strode for the exit. "She left with the Shadowfox pilot," he said.

When the door clanged shut behind him, both boys broke into laughter. Leon reached over and ruffled Jamie's black hair affectionately. "Amazing, Jamie, truly."

The grey-eyed youth smiled sheepishly. "I am sort of a tactical genius, aren't I?"

. . .

_Next time on Zoids:_

_"Ahem. This is Dr. Laon. I've been through a lot of lows during my existence. During them I've realized that fate has very little power over life. It's people and their choices that affect this world. I need to make some hard decisions, and so do some members of the Blitz Team. By experience, I believe repercussions will be terrible. History has a way of repeating itself, after all. Next time on Zoids: Jamie's Heart—Damned If You Do. A love triangle becomes a wreck-tangle. Ready? Fight!"_

* * *

><p><strong>Let<strong> me just lol for a second at the ending of this fic. Oh Jamie, Jamie, Jamie. You make me laugh.

I relate the Shadowfox to the F-117 Nighthawk when I consider it's stealth capabilities. I figure it has a very small radar cross-section, and is thus almost impossible to detect if Brad is coming straight at you. You'd have to be in a wide-open area and see him coming to dodge appropriately; your gadgets aren't going to be helpful in tracking his Zoid.

What do you think of this OC, Red Bull? I think he's a very colorful character that I could have seen gracing a new season of Zoids. Also, the receptionist from A Botanist's Delight has made her second appearance in this fic! She's in the Character Exchange Program; keeps her from getting bored.

When Leon finds out that Leena is trying to get Brad and Naomi back together, I picture him like: "I better do something before Leena makes it worse."

Okay, you'll have to tell me what's going on with the Brad/Naomi this chapter. I feel like I've read their scenes over so many times that I can't even tell anymore what's good or not. Their characters kept emotionally changing on me and I felt like I was juggling this episode. I'm hoping it's realistic while still giving you that good dose of romance without being too sudden. In my head, they were being stubborn and angry at each other for awhile. The whole 'give me my space, no means no' thing was going on for Naomi, but I think seeing Brad hurt about her actions compared to just seeing him mad at her finally snapped her out of it. And don't forget that she had a lot of time to think during the battle.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own NC0. I came up with Red Bull though.

**Reviews:** The Dragooner, Usually I accept corrections whole-heartedly, but since I'm working on an aerospace degree, I want to argue with you a little bit. Please consider this a healthy conversation between peers, and not some sort of spiteful comeback! I actually find it incredibly awesome that I have a reviewer who can fully appreciate when I use aeronautical terms, and can critique me when I'm wrong!

_—_

Engine unstart is when air flows in reverse through the engine. In class, we called it backflow. I used it because, in my head, the exhaust nozzle of Jamie's engines was facing the incoming airflow which might have caused an unstart. I see now that 'unstart' is used for reverse flow caused by shockwaves. Cut out is when fuel gets into the supercharger I believe. From my research it occurred for WW2 planes (Allied forces) who didn't have the Messerschmitt's fuel-injection technology. (I did a project on this). Anyway, please explain to me how "cut out" applies to a jet engine, because I can't find a good definition anywhere. If the Raynos has ion boosters (I don't actually know what kind of engines it has) then "cut out" is probably a more generic term to use, and applies better. But until I know for sure, I'm going to stick with his engine had an unconventional unstart. Now, getting into 'dead stick landing' vs. 'coming in hot'…you are completely right :P Good catch, thank you! :)

_—_

And I AM SO EXCITED to see your new story! A main character with an AERIAL Zoid? It's going to be awesome, hands down. I've never actually watched Fuzors, so it will be new for me hahha!

To the both of you, a little discussion about Leena. I agree that Leena could get annoying during NC0. If this were canon, she and Harry would probably end up together, because their personalities are actually fairly similar. But in that vein, I tried to mature both her and Bit in directions different from canon, apparently with mixed results last chapter. But, I do like that argument scene. It seems completely out of character at first glance, but that is sort of the point for me. We all know they _should_ be multi-faceted, and deep down I think those reactions are well within their personalities, and you summarized my thoughts very well into words! Thank you for taking the time to think about it! I have more to say about this, but I'll save it for next chapter! :$ (Not sure exactly what this smiley face means, but it seems like the correct face to make.) And Leena and Leon really don't get enough airtime together in other fics I've seen. I love writing them together!

And to Randomcat, super glad you enjoyed the battle against the magnetic field. As soon as I heard about the Magnesser system I was like, "I HAVE to do something with this." And I'm so glad you liked Jamie's character progression! I'm always worried about the hit-and-miss. He'll be doing some more character progression in the sidelines next episode. I would LOVE if you adopted the name Fluger, that would make me feel famous hahaha.

**And** here's mini head-canon time, just for you!

Brad has a gruff exterior, but also he has a heart of gold. His personality got him into quite a few arguments with teams that hired him on. Leon, seeing right into the soul of people as is his way, upon meeting Brad invites him to battle with the Blitz team once or twice. At this point, Leena and Jamie are _young_, which would make Brad one of the main fighters on the team, which makes him feel _needed, _which is an incredibly important thing. Then of course there are smaller shenanigans and he earns the nickname the Big Bad Wolf.

Fun stuff. Next episode is another romantic head-explosion for me, so let's hope that turns out good! That'll post in April...then the buffer episode that closes the emotion arc and sets up the finale...posts is May. After that...four finale chapters! I'm trying to get ahead of the game here, and will post those in two week segments instead of four week segments. That way, the finale should feel faster paced, and you won't forget what happened from one episode to the next.

**Must **end this author's note NOW. So, favorite part is definitely the way Bit reacts when Leena is in his room_—_makes me giggle. Can't wait for your responses!


	21. Episode 21

Episode Twenty-One

_Jamie's Heart—Damned If You Do_

_"Battlefield set up,"_

"Four fours."

Bit glanced under his cup, noting the values of his own six dice. He looked furtively between Brad's unexpressive face and Jamie's confused one. "Six fours."

Both men looked to Jamie, and he looked back in bewilderment. "Er…two?"

Immediately Brad's palm slapped himself in the forehead and Bit burst into laughter. "At this rate you'll have no money come morning."

"I don't understand this gambling game!" Jamie grouched.

Brad splayed his hand across the living room table, gesturing between the downturned cups. "It's a very simple game, kid. Just guess how many fours we've rolled." Jamie grumbled some more about 'seedy underworlds.' "You can do it, even Bit figured it out."

"I take colossal offense to that."

Brad blinked airily, ignoring him, and unveiled his dice. "Hand over the money, blondie."

Bit folded over in defeat, collapsing onto the blue couch. Just as Brad was stuffing the dollar bills into his pocket Jamie asked, "Does it matter how many I have?"

Before the mercenary could be caught in the act of swindling, he distracted everyone by smiling brightly at Leena as she walked into the room to grab the jeep keys from a hook on the wall. "You're certainly bedecked, Leena."

Jamie looked up from the probability calculations he was making on a napkin, catching sight of her evening dress. "Harry isn't going to be able to form complete sentences, right Bit?"

"You like it?" She twirled innocently, and then all three of them looked expectantly at the blonde warrior, who gaped back with a blank expression on his face. No, not because a trope like 'her stunning beauty rendered him incapable of speech', oh no. He wasn't lucky enough when it came to women for it to be that simple. You see, unfortunately, his brain had suddenly clouded over with that lancing pain of repressed memories coming to light.

One day, long ago, he had swept into the communal bathroom and swung open the shower door like the king of the world. At this point, his brain had internalized three specific experiences with the extreme clarity that usually came with traumatic cases.

The first was the utmost horror and embarrassment Leena's face had become—an image that left him feeling guilty to this day. The second was her arm circling around her breasts in a moment of modesty, and the third was her fist connecting with the side of his jaw. Everything was slightly hazy after that. See? Traumatic.

"I think that your dress is completely inappropriate." He brushed past Brad, Jamie, and Leena and stalked into the hallway, presenting them all with his indignant back as a secondary response.

I mean _really_, who dressed themselves in a cloth the color of their nipples? It was like walking around stark naked.

_— _

Arriving at the Champ base, red hair a bit windblown, did not commence in its usual fashion. Instead, Sebastian picked Leena up bridal style in his robotic arms, and whirred them both to a candlelight dinner under the stars. Harry was beaming proudly next to an oaken table that must have taken much heaving to bring all the way out here. She hobbled to her seat—heels had been a bad idea for this sand.

When she was situated, Harry sat as well, clapping his hands to galvanize Benjamin who had been hiding nearby with platters.

"I hope you're hungry, my dear," Harry said.

"I'm always ready for Benjamin's cooking."

"Mary helped," the robot replied demurely. In light of this fact, Leena spent thirty seconds weighing the possibilities for poison.

It turned out that the food was not tainted, and the two talked amiably for a time, trading stories of recent exploits. In light of everything that was happening recently, she had decided to at least give Harry her undivided attention for the evening. She had resolutely told herself that it was time they both start acting like adults. So, during it all, Leena couldn't help but wonder if she could imagine this convivial arrangement as a constant in her future. The food was good, after all. Harry's haircut was still on the terrible side though.

However, just when she was about to label this as a good date, Harry sprung his parents on her. "Father called yesterday. He'll be away for quite awhile, setting up new trade agreements. I would love if I could introduce you to Mother."

"Oh?" Leena stuffed as much food in her mouth to avoid responding.

"If I can get her to approve, then there will be no further obstacles to our engagement!"

Leena noticed her mouth was dry and that she was out of water. _Who's crazy idea was it to act like a grownup again_? She pointed Sebastian frantically at her glass. "Desert air, so dry!" She laughed a little manically. Sebastian refilled and she gulped.

"What do you say, Leena? Yes or no?"

_Yes or no? Yes or no!? _"Why, look at the hour!" Leena pointed heavenward, pretending to have the ability to read the stars like a clock. "Past my curfew! Got to run!"

Leena stood and wobbled, poked a few holes in the ground with her heels, then muttered _blast it all!_ and slipped them off. She barely garbled out a ladylike farewell and managed an unneeded curtsey before booking it cross-desert towards the jeep.

"Was it something I said?" Harry asked.

"Probably something she ate," Benjamin replied, poking at Leena's leftovers. "Next time, leave the cooking to me!"

"Darn, and I was hungry too." Bit materialized from the darkness, hands in his pockets and looking innocent.

"What are you doing here!?"

Bit shrugged. "Doc said it was past Leena's curfew." The Liger rumbled in the distance, growling in a way to lend truth to his story.

"When did he become such a fan of Cinderella?"

"I'll have to check his diary."

Harry pouted a little dejectedly at his candlelight setup. "We didn't even get to dessert. I baked a cake, and the ring was inside it! I admit it was an accident but…" Harry glanced to his side, where Bit stood a little surprised, and heaved a sigh of resignation. Reaching into his coat, the man-destined-to-be-king pulled out a folded note, handing it off to the blonde warrior. "Could you give this to her?"

Bit responded with a mock salute. "You can count on me!" Stuffing the letter into his pocket, he bounded off towards the Liger who was playfully leaping after small animals. "Get back here, you big cat!"

When the last critter ran away into its hidey-hole, the Liger finally stilled and allowed Bit to catch up. Panting, the warrior placed his hands on his knees and tried to catch his breath. "Since when…are you…a five-year-old kid! Ooh, shiny."

True to his nature, Bit allowed himself to be easily distracted and dove after a few abandoned parts littering the area. The Liger's growl of annoyance did not perturb him, and so the great Zoid flopped down to place its head on its paws.

"Look at this! Do you know what this is?" Bit shouted excitedly, leaping from piece to piece of junk. The Liger gave one last grumble, but Bit continued on his merry way. In the hubbub, the letter eventually weaseled its way from his pocket, but he hardly noticed. "Would this fit in your cockpit?"

In reply the Liger grasped his pilot by the back of his jacket, and carried him from its jaws the long way back to the base. Hanging like a kitten was a wholly unfair punishment in Bit's opinion, and he had many words with the Liger Zero about it during his trek. Unfortunately for Harry's feelings however, _his_ words were forever lost in that unmarked patch of Zoidian desert. Whatever feelings he expressed, and whatever future may have resulted, went unsung. Poor Harry.

"Sebastian, could you run a bath for me? And Benjamin, the bath salts please. There's some sand in places there shouldn't be!"

. . .

Dr. Laon was walking briskly down a white-tiled corridor while a group of young adults tap-tapped after him in their high-heels and loafers. He walked so fast, in fact, that some might have argued that he was trying to escape them.

"Dr. Laon!" An orange haired intern grabbed him by the arm while clenching a stich in her side. "Aren't we passing the lab the Commissioner told you to show us?"

"How remiss of me," Dr. Laon grumbled, snatching his arm from the young woman. "I have a point to make before I let you rampaging bulls into my lab, however. Who here knows what a carburetor is?"

A cricket answered somewhere above the ceiling panels, but none of the students did.

"How can any of you expect to engineer Zoids if you don't know how the oldest of cars work?! Zoids are complex mechanical beings; they are extremely intricate. Everything meshes, everything must balance—!" Laon lost his breath while he raged, so he sagged against the locked door in defeat.

A young man raised his hand from the back of the group. "But I'm an electrical engineer."

"I think I'm dying."

"Aha, Dr. Laon, there you are!" The Commissioner exited a meeting room, other members of the council spilling out from behind him. He used his authority to pass the students off to another cohort, then gestured Dr. Laon to follow him. "You look like you could use a drink."

"I could use two."

"Then you can join me for tea."

_Foiled again! _Dr. Laon groused internally, following the old man to his glass office where a delicate china tea set awaited them. The Commissioner offered him a biscuit and Dr. Laon refused.

"I'd offer a cookie because we share that sweet tooth, however my old blood sugar can't make par these days." The Commissioner poured them each a cup, then ruminated while he sipped. "How goes Zworks? Have you finished upgrading the Laser Cannons?"

"Not quite yet," Dr. Laon responded. Through one of the glass walls of the elevated office, Laon could see the wide expanse of desert beyond the complex. He could even see the three Laser Cannons mounted like small forts on the roof of the ZBC's crescent-shaped headquarters. As they stood now, the lasers could decimate anything within the Crescent's walls.

"I need the upgrade by next week, Laon. The Ultrasaurus will be planetside for three days during maintenance, and I need the firepower."

"About that…" Laon cleared his throat. "How about we bring the Ultrasaurus in a few days later? The moon base could begin repairs…" Laon adjusted his collar nervously as the old man gave him a death glare. "Or not…"

. . .

It was late, and Jamie had spent one too many hours in front of the simulator that night. He stretched and yawned as he walked through the sleeping quarters towards his bedroom, dreaming happily of a soft pillow and warm blankets. After all, the base was a veritable ice cube at night.

However, an unfortunate character quirk of Jamie's was his compassion—unfortunate because Zoid warriors could smell weakness. So, when Jamie overheard Bit muttering to himself, and when he lingered in the blonde's doorway instead of weighing the cons and leaving Bit to his own devices, Bit's uncanny luck reared its head. Jamie sneezed.

The blonde warrior didn't mind the stalking in the least, instead swiveling around quickly in his chair with a smile on his face that spelled trouble. "What rhymes with orange?"

With his fingers pinched around his nostrils Jamie replied, "Nothing."

Bit cursed lightly, tapping a ballpoint pen thoughtfully on his chin, staring off into space. "I'm starting to think poetry was not the right course of action."

"Is that what you're doing over there?!"

"Is it that surprising?"

"Bit, you take the Poe right out of Poem."

Bit chuckled, glancing to and fro in a play on innocence. "Could you put the Poe back in?"

"Oh, great," Jamie said self-deprecatingly. _There goes my sleep._ He walked over and snatched the letter from Bit's desk. "Let me see what you've written before you scar some poor girl for life_—__ack_!" His eyes bugged out of his face. "It's to Leena!"

"Quiet! Don't let her know I lost the first one!"

"LEENA!?" Jamie patted his heart spastically, muttering in a jumble of words. "What…since when?...How?"

"Earlier tonight," Bit replied off-handedly, running a hand through his blonde hair sheepishly. Jamie had finally settled on silent shock—sitting unblinkingly with his jaw hanging open. "So could you do me this huge favor, Jamie? Please? If you don't, my head will get bulldozed and the Liger Zero will end up a garden decoration in some fancy estate!"

This train of thought might have confused Jamie more, but his neural processes were currently under repair. In the meantime, while he rebooted, Bit gushed his thanks profusely and ushered Jamie out of his bedroom. The aviator didn't come around until quite some time later, when he found himself standing within his own room, still clutching Leena's love-letter in his hand.

There _was_ the option of ignoring this, putting the letter down, and forgetting this ever happened. Instead, however, he walked numbly to his desk and sat heavily in a black swivel chair. Bit's first few lines were a scrambled mess—what sort of love letter had marginal notes? In light of this fact, Jamie used a pencil, intending to go back over his final draft in pen.

Starting the letter would have been the hardest part. The first step always gave Jamie the most trouble—just look how long it took him to break the sound barrier! And it would have taken even longer for him to admit he had a tiny crush on the Blitz Team's sole female. It was a serendipitous (or inauspicious, depending on how you looked at it) turn of events that landed Bit's letter on his desk. Now, at least, he had a chance to verbalize what teased him subconsciously—even if his hand was forced into elegiac script.

Bit's prompting was surprisingly enough for never-spoken words to form suddenly in his mind and spill through his pencil. He wrote, erased, edited, re-wrote, pondered, and before long the clock was frowning at him and the words were swimming across the page before his eyes. Even through his drunken exhaustion, he knew the letter was refined to his best ability—the words were perfect.

Then the compassionate soul in him signed Bit's name, because after all, he couldn't stab his friend in the back, now could he? But even as he switched off the desk lamp—just to rest his eyes—Jamie wondered at how she would react to him opening his feelings to her…him _Jamie_—the young boy who she treated like a kid-brother and was still shorter than her for Zi's sake. In his semi-alert state he decided that it might not be _too _embarrassing if she found out; he had to grow up and put himself out there sometime didn't he? The last nub of his eraser deleted Bit's name.

But now…how should he sign it? 'Your admirer?'…or 'Your friend, Jamie?'…or…_snore_.

Precisely four hours later, Bit waltzed into Jamie's room clear-eyed and cheery. "Nice puddle of drool," he teased. Jamie snorted a little, blearily noticing his steadily brightening room. When Bit waved, Jamie groaned and put his head back into his arms, falling immediately back to sleep.

Shrugging, Bit weaseled the love note from underneath the young boy's leaden form, and then slipped away. To read or not to read was certainly the question, and as Bit trotted towards Leena's room, the letter burned a hole in his pocket. By the time he'd knocked on her door curiosity had gotten the best of him, and he'd whipped out the paper, poring over the words with growing wonder.

"Just a minute!"

Leena finished slipping her pink tank-top over her head, then kicked her towel into a corner. _I wonder who couldn't possibly wait until breakfast? _She yanked a few knots out of her damp hair and straightened her skirt one last time before finally allowing her door to slide open. "You rang?"

In her doorway stood Bit Cloud, holding a note to his face and blushing a deep red. When she quirked an eyebrow, he wordlessly handed her the paper and walked away. _Well, that was odd_.

She returned to her bed, her door automatically re-locking itself. She was no stranger to Harry's love letters, but this was an odd one—not scented, on colored paper, or holding creepy hand-drawn pictures of her—_I mean, really! _He was getting lazy.

"Leena," Dearest and dear and wondrous and lovely had all been crossed out from where they stood in favor of her name. In parenthesis nearby the author had scrawled "Maybe something in a different language." It seemed a little strange for Harry so she read on, intrigued. "There is no introduction good enough, or perhaps you have no good introduction (heh heh), or maybe my mind's too scrambled for me to say something that makes sense. I—" And here many words were crossed out again, she spotted 'like' and 'adore' in the jumble. "I care for you. A lot. Too much."

And after here the handwriting straightened up and started to smile at her neatly in clean rows. Kind of strange. She was possibly dealing with a schizophrenic here.

"I like you so much that sugar tastes sour and salt tastes sweet and the color of violets and roses don't matter because you don't like flowers much. I'm crazy about you. I'd slay a windmill for you. Ten even. I'd lose for you. I've _driven_ myself crazy. Enough so that I can't even look your father straight in the eye without seeing you. You _drive_ me crazy. _Endlessly. Ceaselessly._ When you brush past me. When you yawn. When you laugh and pound the table. When you poke me, when you yell. Especially when you get that excited look in your eyes during battle. When your face pops up on the vid-screen and sweat has curled the short hairs on the base of your neck and your eyes are bright and your wings are bobbing up and down with the movement of your Zoid, I could just die. I could smack into a rock wall and die because I'd be so oblivious.

"Do me a favor and don't laugh after reading this. Don't walk by me and laugh or, even worse, ignore me. You don't know how evil you can be when you do. And please, _please_, don't smile. I don't know just how crazy I'd go."

Her heart was pounding. Her face was burning. _Who had written this? _ Certainly it wasn't Harry. It wasn't like him at all.

There were grooves at the bottom of the letter. There had been a name there. Strangely nervous, she searched through drawers for a sharpened pencil and placed the letter facedown. Lightly, she rubbed the lead over the grooves until an inverted name was visible. Her stomach somersaulted, and she finally understood the phrase 'heart in your throat.' _What was going on?_

She remembered Bit standing at her door, reading and blushing. His blonde hair had been tousled in the way that made her want to run her fingers through it. He had looked embarrassed. He had also looked surprised. _It didn't make sense._

. . .

Within his lab, Dr. Laon typed furiously at his computer. The Commissioner was not happy with his lead engineer playing coy games, and was sending in someone this afternoon to go over his files. It wouldn't take someone with Laon's intellect to realize that wholly different things had been going on in this lab. That meant that Laon only had a few hours left to finish up this last program, and then delete anything too wild.

While coding within the Laser Cannon's software, someone interrupted him in the middle of his 'for' loop. Words leapt across the page, quickly being underlined in red as the software alerted him to the fact that these sentences were not following mathematical rules. Laon glanced furtively around himself before responding.

_Laon_: Thank you for the coordinates, Lady.

_Fuma_: And why exactly do you need them?

_Laon_: Commissioner is on my track, might have to make a run for it this afternoon.

_Fuma: _Have you completed manufacturing my override bug? I want to be able to turn those Laser Cannons onto the ZBC and wipe those self-righteous smirks off their faces.

_Laon: _Not quite yet.

As Fuma continued to speak to him in code, Laon glanced around at his lab. It was littered with Ultrasaurus armor blueprints, half-finished drones for Fuma, and modular replicas of the Laser Cannon's focusing nozzles. He was gong to need to shred those blueprints.

_Fuma: _You need to tell me now if I need to order anything for those drones. This last week isn't getting any longer.

_Laon: _I have everything I need.

As he responded, he was suddenly struck with a brilliant idea about batteries. He quickly dismissed Lady Fuma as politely as he could. So much to do, so little time!

. . .

Jamie wrung his hands and swiveled on the spot, retracing the line he was pacing. Upon waking this morning and finding himself sans love note and with no idea where it might be and if he had signed it or not had left Jamie anxious. His first inclination had been to lock himself away in the simulation room, but that floor was too small for his nervous energy. Instead he had retreated to his second favorite hiding spot—the catwalk near his Raynos on the upper levels of the hangar.

He had chalked up the entire gushing of emotions to his alter ego; in the light of day, he completely regretted all of his words and absolutely had to get that letter back! He vaguely remembered Bit, but how could he face his friend knowing he'd betrayed him? Brad or Doc might have noticed he was late for breakfast and taken the letter as they'd checked on him. Leena also had no concept of boundaries, and could have found the letter herself. _Oh, this was too embarrassing. _How was he going to find out what happened without tipping his hand?

"Oh, Jamie, you're here." Leena's head popped up over the ladder, and her light-colored eyes darted back and forth reluctantly. Jamie's heart sank. "I was going to try out your brooding place."

"I'm starting to think this isn't a very good hiding spot."

Leena chuckled. "No, everyone can see you." She climbed the rest of the way onto the platform, and then bundled herself up on the metal flooring, pulling her knees up to her chest.

When she didn't bring up a need for a 'talk,' Jamie began to feel more emboldened. Maybe he could slip out of this situation without being teased mercilessly for the rest of his life. "So…" he commenced, clearing his throat, "anything interesting happen today?"

She turned questioning eyes on him, however they weren't completely ignorant.

"Anything out of the ordinary? For instance, maybe saw something on the news or," he gulped, "read something?"

Those eyes narrowed, and she stared at him long and hard. He started to sweat a little. "Are you trying to refer to anything in particular?"

Jamie's nervousness progressed into breathless laughs. "No, of course not! Have you seen Bit around?"

"Should I have?" Her features deepened into a scowl, and Jamie edged away, recognizing that she was steadily growing angrier but not knowing how to prevent it. He was forced to resort to nodding along when she leapt into a small rant about the _famous_ Bit Cloud and how they just _barely_ knew each other—they were only _teammates_ after all—and why should she know where he is? She wasn't his keeper!

He breathed out carefully only after she stormed back down the access ladder, cringing when Brad walked in and inadvertently needled her farther. "Harry called. He asked me to take a message, but I couldn't find a ten-foot scroll."

"_Thanks, Brad!"_ Leena responded sarcastically, fuming, before stalking the rest of the way out of the hangar and into the hallways of the base.

She was in a good seethe. She well aware of how easy it was to get her furious, and she had thought her temper flare-ups were getting better, but the boys had done a fantastic job regressing her. What, did they think a few woolly comments under the guise of friendship would let loose all of her vulnerable emotions?

Leena was not stupid. But she felt like she was being played, and that incensed her. Bit's name had _obviously_ been erased from the bottom of the so-called heartfelt letter but the blonde had handed it to her with little more than a sheepish grin.

With that and Jamie's remark in mind, she searched through Bit's usual spots before finding him in the common room. She landed with a huff across the couches from the warrior, crossing her arms and trying to figure out his game. Unfortunately he didn't seem to be aware of one other than the sports scores running underneath the news-anchor's speech.

He had seemed to have some sort of idea of its contents, yet was currently utterly uncaring of her response. Not ignoring her, just Did. Not. Care.

Who had done it then? Who was laughing at her expense? Wasn't it enough that they teased her about Harry—coloring her thoughts when she tried to figure out what she really felt about him? Wasn't the perfect little understanding Brad and Naomi had enough of an insult to her love life?

And here was Bit, at the center of it all and too stupid to realize it. Self-centered, idiotic, cocky, immature, childish Bit. After receiving her fake love letter he should have opened, read, and then burned it. _Not _opened, read, gave to her, then _not given a fuck._ Did he not care about her emotions _at all_? Was he so base that he would cross a line with her without a second glance?

"—with this missing man. He was last heard—"

"Hey I know that face!" Bit cried suddenly, swiveling around to find the remote to raise the volume. "He's the shotgun—"

"I. Do not care. Bit." She stalked over to him and changed the channel. He could see her irritation, but was more interested in the newscast.

"I need to see that!" He said, narrowing his eyes at her. Seeing that she wasn't going to retrieve the remote she'd stuffed into the cushion seats, he reached across her. She immediately punched him in the arm. "Stay out of my space!"

"Helic, Leena!"

And this was the scene Brad chose to enter the room on: the two of them in a minimally entangled sprawl on the couches with the history channel blaring behind them. The mercenary, of course, found it monstrously amusing.

"Oh you think its funny, do you?" She hissed, fixing Brad with the meanest glare she could muster. "Let's harass Leena! Sexually or emotionally, who cares?!" The anger in her boiled. She was frustrated at being the butt of some anonymous joke that was prodding into the more secret parts of her heart. She didn't know who was behind it, but at this point it might as well have been them all, the dicks. She was going to turn this on them.

So she shut her eyes mid death-ray and moaned: lewdly and quite audibly. She might have even arched her back for effect.

Opening her eyes to assess the damage, she noticed that Bit had frozen, hovering over her like a cliff, and was staring wide-eyed somewhere over her shoulder. Brad was heard stumbling as he hastened out of the room, trying to forget what he'd just witnessed.

"Pricks." She said, glowering. _Now who's laughing? _No one.

Needless to say, both mostly ignored her at lunch.

. . .

"_Oh, Stevie pumpkin-pie honey-bunches!" _

"What, Laon!?" answered a flustered Dr. Toros. He wiped his sweaty brow, as he'd just ran up a ladder to answer the call in the control room, preventing the rest of the base from hearing any more pet-names sprout from Dr. Laon's mouth.

"I happened to be flying over this stretch of desert, and noticed your bright blue blot of a Hover Cargo. How are things?"

"Good as usual. You?"

"Could be better. I want to apologize. Don't take it too seriously, though."

"Oh?" Dr. Toros replied excitedly. "Does this mean you've turned over a new leaf? Are your colors changing? Is it autumn?"

But before Dr. Laon could answer, a frazzled ZBC employee, oddly holding a pen below his mouth like a microphone, interrupted the conversation. "_Attention, all warriors within the Prozen Desert! A dangerous fugitive is in your airspace, flying a stolen Blitz Hornet! Avoid at all costs! Repeat, avoid at all costs!"_

"Laon," Dr. Toros said angrily, growing red in the face, "what Zoid is it that you are flying at this moment!?"

Dr. Laon's eyes widened comically. "Don't believe everything you hear on television!" He severed the connection.

"Jamie—" Dr. Toros radioed out over the base, and was quickly answered by said warrior.

"On it, Doc!"

Jamie left the intercom within the hangar, and jogged back towards his Raynos. Bit had already mobilized the Liger Zero, and was beginning his merge with the Fire Phoenix. These sorts of things always took him a bit of time, and thus Jamie beat him into the sky.

He spotted the black and yellow hornet speeding away, and it took him a good dose of speed to catch up. The hornet was fast, and it wasn't a Zoid he was overwhelmingly familiar with. It had small wings and an extremely large tail section housing a lethal looking dart. Hesitantly, Jamie lined up a shot and fired.

With a blur of motion, the Blitz Hornet moved left and up, dodging like a bug, and not like a bird as Jamie was used to. "What incredible maneuverability!" Jamie barely had time to shout before a poison dart struck his Raynos in the back.

For a moment the Raynos shook with electricity, and, paralyzed, it dropped a few feet before regaining power.

"Bit, no point in coming out here. Your clunker is not going to be able to hit this hornet."

"I was planning on squishing it," Bit replied as the Phoenix Liger roared and flew into view. Quick as a whistle, the Blitz Hornet struck again, this time blasting a dart into the Liger's right shoulder. There was a buzz of electricity and Bit glanced to and fro confusedly. "What was that supposed to do?"

Jamie groaned. The luck of this guy! "It should have paralyzed you. The Phoenix Liger must be too large for it to work."

"Convenient." Bit grinned, activating the Liger's weapons system. "Let's take this bug out of the sky! Strike Laser Claw!"

He accelerated and dove, missing the Blitz Hornet entirely as the bug zig and zagged swiftly. Bit dove after it repeatedly, unfortunately making the Liger look like a large cat pawing at dust motes. "Well, this is embarrassing."

Jamie agreed. "I think it's time for a carpet-bomb. Back up!" The Phoenix Liger banked away, and Jamie let loose a barrage of missiles. The hornet avoided the shots, but the explosions buffeted the enemy Zoid. "Now's your chance!"

"Way ahead of you!" Bit had already launched himself towards the disoriented Zoid, claws glowing and at the ready. "Strike—" _Blam! _

A laser pulse hit the Liger square in the side and sent Bit tumbling. The Blitz Hornet recovered and sped away towards a floating fortress descending from the cloud cover. Fuma's Hammerhead's massive jaw creaked open, and Laon escaped within the ship.

Suddenly, the Blitz Team's enemy was no longer a joke, and Bit upside down within his Ultimate X when Jamie's Raynos was at subsonic speeds could not be taken lightly. The status quo had changed.

No time for new battle tactics. Jamie thought to move, but the telescoping feature on his cockpit locked onto a new Zoid emerging from the Hammerhead's dorsal fin. It was a shadowy, black creature, as tall as the Hover Cargo, and a frightening sight to behold. Before Jamie could get a good look, its face blew up with light, distorting his screen, and a huge beam shot towards the Liger.

Bit's skill kicked in, and he threw the Liger's weight to the side just in time. The crackling energy passed within feet of his Zoid, so close that Bit felt the static electricity warm across his skin. Then, his bones were rattling and he had to work furiously to cease the Liger's tumbling."They've got a charged particle cannon!?" Bit exclaimed, the Phoenix Liger trembling like a weakened tin can.

"She must have repaired the Genosaurs."

"We have to stop it."

"No, we need to get out of here," Jamie responded fearfully. "We can't fight the Hammerhead, Fuma's aerial Zoids, and that beast!"

"I'd rather fight it now, when it still needs that power cable to function, then wait for her to attack us on her terms." Bit pointed out a wire attached to the dark Zoid like an umbilical chord. "We cut that, and we can take out this Zoid easily."

Jamie gulped. "Alright, we'll go at it from two different directions." Jamie banked left, Bit took right, and both fliers sped towards the Hammerhead.

As Bit got closer, he noticed more details. The make partly reminded him of the Berserk Fury, but it was much larger, as if Fuma was looking to create Godzilla. A row of spines led from its crown to the tip of its tail, and they glowed red hot as steam from the particle cannon shot from their tips. It roared, tilted left to look at Bit, then turned towards Jamie, charging up a new shot.

"No!" Bit shouted, just as the Charged Particle Cannon released its second beam. For a moment the Raynos was obscured, and then Bit saw it spiraling wildly off into the sky. Jamie had avoided it, but barely.

It gave him just enough time to close the distance between himself and the Hammerhead, and, by Zoid Eve, Fuma had a monster on her hands. The Liger was a kitten compared to it. Who was he kidding, thinking he could fight this thing? It was like fighting an Ultrasaurus.

He dove, avoiding his imminent attack on the creature, his surrender obvious as he escaped into safety underneath the Hammerhead. Bit could hardly believe he was running away from a battle, but he'd have to be insane to put his and Jamie's lives into such palpable danger. He spied the green Raynos struggling in the sky below him, and flew towards it. Behind him, the Hammerhead was turning, and the creature was folding back within the Hammerhead's dorsal fin. He could feel its eyes on him, and a chill went down his spine.

"Jamie?" Bit placed a steadying claw on the Raynos, and watched as the younger pilot shook his head to orient himself, his grey eyes going in and out of focus. "I was faced with fight or flight, and I chose flight."

Jamie's eyes flashed, and his face darkened. The Wild Eagle answered him. "Coward."

. . .

The moons were getting high, but Bit couldn't stop thinking about the Zoid he'd seen in today's battle. He knew he'd see it again, but there was no telling when Fuma would decide to strike next. Could he really defeat that gargantuan thing? Even with the help of the others?

"What do you think, Liger?"

His Zoid responded with a soft growl. It wasn't a confident roar, but it wasn't a 'no' either. The Liger Zero, at least, was certain they'd find a way. That idea, and the knowledge that the Liger always had his back, allowed him to finally release the worry from his mind. "You're right, partner."

"Bit, we need to talk."

Leena strode purposefully into the hangar with all of the righteous anger her body could carry. The blonde warrior half-turned from the Liger Zero's bolt check, wrench in hand. "About what?"

"Something important, so I need you to stop giving the Liger googly eyes and focus on me." He reacted too slowly for Leena's liking, and her last few steps included yanking him through a half-circle and pulling the wrench from his hands.

"What did I do?"

Bit had that nervous look in his eyes, like he was about to dash in fear of her fist. Her heart clenched as a wave of anxiety overtook her, and she noticed the palm wrapped around the metal wrench was clammy. _No time to be a baby, Leena_. She was just going to come right out and say it. She set the wrench down to hide her gulp, then faced him with a glare and crossed arms. "What am I to you?"

Bit was never good at hiding his emotions, and now the nerves had obviously dissipated in lieu of confusion. He tilted his head. "I don't understand what you're asking me."

Leena sighed explosively. "We're supposed to be friends, but lately you've been giving me mixed signals. Sometimes you flirt with me, and the next minute you're snickering behind your hand with Brad about Harry and I!"

"Flirting?"

"You put your hand on my leg, or touch my hair," she said glumly, running her hands over her arms—a small hug to counter the embarrassment. "Yesterday you were telling me Brad's new secret and your tongue was practically in my ear!"

Bit's cheeks reddened. "I think I was just trying to make you blush."

"That's what I'm talking about! Don't you know there's a boundary—there are supposed to be boundaries! I don't know where they are anymore!" She frowned and turned away from him. His green eyes were wide with shock, and she couldn't look at them. "You're hurting me when you mix me up. How do you not see that? I'm so fed up with you. In fact, I don't even want to talk to you, why am I here?" She turned on her heel and quickly walked away.

"Just stay away from me from now on!" There were a few seconds where she thought he might actually let her get away, but then she heard feet hitting the floor behind her.

Bit trapped her as she left, almost slamming his hands onto the wall on either side of her head. "_Stop. _You can't surprise me with all of this and just _leave_."

He was angry, she could tell. Leena stared back defiantly, feeling the thrill of fear increase her heartbeat.

"Where is this _coming_ from?"

"From the part of me that knows you only care about yourself and the Liger. I, and everyone else, are just background to you."

He tensed. "I care about this team. _You know_ I care about you. That is obviously not your reason."

"You don't know me," she said, breaking their gaze and staring resolutely at the leg of her Gunsniper.

"Don't I?" He waited, but received not a breath. "I don't know where the line for us is either. Recently, it feels like I've never known." Still only dead, silent air filled the hangar; even the Zoids falling into numbness for fear of a creak. "Oh." He looked up at her, where the fluorescent lights illuminated the angle of her face and the delicate stretch of her neck. He watched her gulp. "This is about Jamie's letter isn't it?"

She closed her eyes, feeling sick. _Jamie._

"I didn't know who it was from." She replied hoarsely. "Even though your name was signed I knew you hadn't wrote it. That hurt for some reason. It hurt a lot." She breathed her last words inaudibly. She had overblown the situation, and now she was at an even greater loss than before. The edginess inside continued to rub her raw.

His anger was collapsing around her. His arms sagged and he rested his head against the wall. "What do you want from me?"

"A decision." His eyes could probably travel the length of their bodies, but hers stayed closed—the darkness a false comfort.

He pressed closer and she shivered, the tension she had held within her body the entire exchange, even the whole day, bending her resolve. Then he kissed her, on her neck, featherlight. His hand trailed up her side; caressing her so softly she could have forgotten if she hadn't burned for every slide of his fingers. She was trembling, she knew.

Leena hung onto his arm that still pressed into the wall and kept her captive, her nails digging craters. She was breathing unsteadily. He knew because he could feel her chest against his and the quivering of her throat near his nose and mouth.

She whimpered, giving in to something in herself. "Sometimes when you touch me," she whispered, "I want you to."

"Sometimes I can't help wanting to," he growled, his words the brush of lips on her skin.

Her breath hitched when he lingered under her top; the pads of his fingers rough and sensual against her. She hated this feeling. Her heart beat low and between her hips, and she was angry, so frustrated with everyone. Confusion was there—strong—and apprehension. The lust. He spoke onto her again. "You know this is all wrong."

She nodded.

"I'm sorry for not being good with words." He halted as he noticed how well his thumbs would fit in the dimples on her back. "I don't want to be forced into this by anyone else either." She let go of him unsteadily and tried to push his wandering hand away. His immediate reaction was to press deeper into her, which elicited a sharp whimper in the form of his name. Leena was begging him.

For what he almost lost the capacity to comprehend. He wanted to taste that moan and damn the consequences. But he grit his teeth and rode out the welling desire. He found her eyes. "I'm not thinking straight." Bit shifted, leaning a shoulder against the wall and giving her passage to escape. She took a few steps away and it reduced the clamoring in their veins. He ran a hand through his hair. "I don't know what we're doing."

She nodded repeatedly, trying to reinterpret everything. "I think I misread the entire situation." Her fingers went to the hem of her skirt, twisting it self-consciously. "We're clear now, right? No more of this." Leena looked up at him and he eventually mumbled back, agreeing.

She turned and withdrew the rest of the way to the hangar door, and even as she did Bit was climbing into the Liger's cockpit.

"I should go talk to Jamie."

He nodded. "I guess I'll see you at breakfast."

"Yeah, I guess." The cockpit's glass closed and she shut the hangar door behind her—swearing that she had heard him hit something.

. . .

_Next time on Zoids:_

_"The drum is beating and time steadily marches forwards. The Era must end. Everything, and everyone, have been building inexorably upwards—the tears and the smiles and the battles and the fights. The relationships and the pain and their wins and their losses. Let's just hope that when it breaks, we all don't fall down. Next time on Zoids: The Butterfly Flaps Its Wings. Otherwise known as the calm before the storm. Are you ready?"_

* * *

><p><strong>Disclaimer: <strong>I do not own NC0. I own the heck out of literally "writing in code."

**Had **a mini-party for myself when I came up with the "writing in code" pun. My favorite part, definitely. I don't care if you've seen it somewhere before; I'm trademarking it at this very moment. :P

Also, Bit's an idiot. I feel like ranting about their relationship right now, but I have a feeling not everyone wants to hear about it. But I should at least discuss the "wreck-tangle." And in case anyone didn't catch it...this plotline is based on the canon fact that Oscar wrote Laon's love letter for Ms. Toros but accidentally signed Dr. Toros' name. I really feel that if Bit/Leena were to ever happen in this show, they would have used this reference.

Firstly, Harry. As I've said before, if this were canon, it would likely be a Harry/Leena coupling. However, I chose to progress Harry and Leena into different levels of maturity. Technically, they would probably still make a good match, but Leena is currently preoccupied.

Secondly, Jamie. Don't feel bad for him. Jamie is awesome, and Leena isn't good enough for him. He's just crushing on her because he's just hitting that age, and she's always been around, and he knows her well. Jamie is the kind of guy that wants to know someone really well before he begins a relationship. Jamie will one day find a great girlfriend, just not in this fic.

Finally, Bit. He and Leena care about each other in a friendly way, but they're also physically attracted to one another so feelings are getting crossed. I think Bit likes to win, and Leena never lets him win, so subconsciously she's this ultimate challenge to him, and he's attracted to that. Then Leena is attracted to the roguish hero in him. But they also drive each other nuts. They just have a weird dynamic.

I'm a crazy person who thinks about this a little too much. But because of this, I'm super interested in what y'all have to say, if you even care at all lol. You might be more interested in Fuma's mysterious god-Zoid, and in that case…

Have no fear! I PROMISED no god-Zoids, and there will not be a god-Zoid. But Fuma wants a god-Zoid, so it's going to sound like a god-Zoid. Just trust me, and I promise you'll understand all of my plans in the finale.

And, my goodness, the finale is practically upon us! The next episode is looking to be so long. And how did you like that blurb? I thought it set up a great amount of tension.

**Reviews: **Randomcat, the Guardian Force will be seen once more, and I think Red Bull will be a great POV for that mini-segment. I actually had three OC's this chapter. The orange-haired intern was the same lady Brad asked Jamie to rate during the college chapter. Then, the shotgun 'missing man' referenced in the newscast is the dude that joined Fuma on the darkside. Thirdly, the Commissioner who Bit met briefly during the Pillbug episode from the very beginning of the story also made a reappearance. Not extremely useful information to the reader, but amusing for me.

Cryostylz, yeah, I'm an aerospace engineer :) Oh government and their ridiculously expensive B2 bomber. The Shadowfox was probably just as large of an investment :P I like that idea! John Doe, glad you're liking the B/L scenes, I have a total blast writing them! So hopefully you thoroughly enjoyed this chapter, which is practically devoted to them!

TheDragooner, I feel like I missed out drastically by not having Naomi fight for herself—having a back-to-back thing again, just like in the original Desert Gang episode. Maybe I can redeem that for the finale. After all, Naomi and Brad haven't fought as a team yet in this entire season. It should happen at least once. I love that Jamie's growing on you! He surprises me a lot too_—_he's always finding ways to not be left out of the story. He had a little more unplanned character progression here, too. Phoenix Liger was airborne, and acting ridiculous this chapter! XD I just can't get the idea that missing a Strike Laser Claw, especially midair, would look so awkward. Bit and Leena would definitely not go to a movie together, mostly because Bit hates movies. He thinks they're super boring. Did I surprise you with what I did with their fledgling romance?

**I** feel like laughing evilly now. If you're overly concerned about Bit and Leena and Harry, no worries, I'm not through with them yet. In fact, you'll see how every character is doing next episode.

Until next time my wonderful, wonderful reviewers :)


	22. Episode 22

Episode Twenty-Two

_The Butterfly Flaps Its Wings_

_The end is coming…_

"Now this is a dark room."

Oscar wiped his hands on his overalls while his eyes adjusted to the gloom. Technically, he could just activate the lights, but that would detract from his sneakiness profile.

After all, he couldn't just waltz up to Steve and tell him to hand over his best tequila just because he'd broken the sound barrier in the Fire Phoenix. Steve just didn't seem to see that this was a large accomplishment! After all, it had been years since he'd piloted so recklessly—and the process of keeping that imbalanced thing in straight flight was a feat in and of itself.

Thus, Oscar's appreciable bulk wound its way through Dr. Toros' bedroom and towards the liquor cabinet. Everyone knew he kept it locked, but surely the combination was just a birthday…

"Ahem."

Oscar straightened up immediately, only then seeing his old friend sitting at his study table. He shrugged, playing off his thieving, and walked over to Dr. Toros.

"I thought you saved scotch for special occasions. Especially depressing occasions, that is," Oscar teased. He referenced the short glass sitting near Steve's right hand; a bundle of ice cubes sat half-melted within, and the slight smell of alcohol was in the air.

Dr. Toros poured another shot of scotch into the glass, then held it out to Oscar, who accepted it gratefully, though after a moment's hesitation. "Are you trying to call me a sad old man?"

"How can you be sad when you have two healthy children and a fantastic party in preparation right outside?"

Dr. Toros turned dark brown eyes to his friend, imploring him to understand. "Because the Undrafted will eventually fall, and Laon will go to jail for a very long time." Another saga of their friendship had passed, and this time he had found himself even further on top while Laon had dug himself even deeper. Being a terrible friend wasn't cause to celebrate.

"We must mourn him, Oscar, because no one else will."

. . .

_Five years_

Many years ago, when the two moons of Zi were as dark as the night sky, three friends by circumstance would attempt the unthinkable: they would escape the inescapable.

Actually, make that four, because at that very moment Koga was allowing the woman, Fuma, to lead them to a surprising accomplice—the murderer. She said this particular prisoner would be useful to them; there was no room for hesitation if the situation got sticky.

There was a crunch of gravel and Koga pressed his back against the wall. Fuma slipped imperceptibly into the shadows, and the thief, Negola, scampered onto the ceiling like a ninja. When the guard rounded the corner, Koga could not hope to hide his appreciable bulk, and took three quick strides forward and clapped a hand over the man's mouth. A minute later and the man was unconscious on the ground, and Fuma had appeared at his side with an appraising look. Koga was suddenly overcome with such a feeling of success that he did a mental double-take, wondering when this woman had come to own him so completely.

While he mentally stuttered, Fuma walked confidently to a solid metal door, dallying with an electronic keycard while a pair of dark eyes studied her through the door's tiny viewing window. When Fuma finally released the door, Koga met, for the first time, the man from solitary confinement. He had a shock of dark brown hair, and the skin tone of a windsurfer rather than a locked-up jailbird. Before he could step freely into the hallway, Fuma poked him in the chest with a long fingernail.

"Play nicely, and I'll give you the warden on a platter."

The man gaped like a fish, but grey eyes met brown and he saw the something in Fuma that both Koga and Negola had seen without being able to pinpoint it, and then he was on his knees. "Ehga. At your service." His voice was thick and rough with disuse. "I want to gouge out his eyes."

"We don't quite have that much time, but I'll give you the honor of his first tears."

Ehga looked up with such glee and reverence that Koga wondered, once again, if there was magic in her words.

Negola stepped forward. "We should move on. The Warshark Guards will dock soon."

"We have to get the warden's access card before they report in," Koga continued.

Fuma smiled indulgently. "Yes. And the daily sandstorms that kept us all trapped here will actively hide our tracks." She squeezed Ehga's shoulder. "One last thing—can you pilot a Warshark?"

"I can pilot anything."

Fuma laughed and spread her arms wide, a glint of triumph in her eyes. "Boys, Zi is at our fingertips. In a few hours we will taste freedom once again."

. . .

Bit knocked on the door of the Lightning Team's base while holding a pack of candles and a lighter. The intercom buzzed and Jack said, "What do you want?"

"Just open up!" Bit hopped from foot to foot while he waited, and then Jack finally activated the door. "Surprise!"

Jack's eyes widened comically, and he actually backed up a step. He eyed the blonde warrior warily. "What are you up to?"

"Oh, am I the first one here?" Bit poked his head in and glanced around the room. "I thought I was late."

Interested in what all the fuss was about, Chris and Kelly entered and immediately rolled their eyes. "If you're talking about the surprise birthday party that _you _planned that's happening _tonight,_ then you're extremely early."

Kelly laughed, "Surprise, Jack!"

Jack's face was pinched and annoyed, and he glared at Bit. Bit responded, unfazed, while patting him on the shoulder, "The Blitz Team usually celebrates with a much more upbeat attitude!"

Jack groaned, then grumbled, "I can't believe this."

"Well, I can't just leave now. I have to at least sing you happy birthday."

Jack looked lost, glancing from Bit to the girls with trepidation. "A great gift would be to pretend this never happened."

Bit frowned, looking down at the box of candles in his hand. "Mary is making the cake though, is there anything I can stick these in?"

Chris glanced at Kelly and they both shrugged. "We have an idea." The twins left momentarily while Jack shot Bit death-glares, then returned carrying a loaf of bread from the kitchen. "Here," they said, holding it out.

Bit popped open the box of candles, then stuck an assortment of colors into the bread. Soon it was dotted haphazardly, and Bit fixed a cheesy grin on his face before flicking the lighter on.

. . .

_Five months_

It was dark that night in Zi, and the Warshark's were given that additional element of fear as they struck down the Iron Kongs that had the gall to shoot at them. As Ehga finished off the second, Fuma appeared on the bone-dais, beginning the conversation with Major Altail of the Backdraft group.

"It was impressive, if a little heavy handed. Defeating our advanced forces in mere seconds is not something many troops are capable of."

Having exited their Zoids, Ehga, Koga, and Negola crept upwards to appear behind their leader Fuma. Naturally, Koga announced the presence of the three warriors first. "We are but shadows."

Ehga chose that moment to step out as well, smirking at Altail's Darkhorn. "We're able to anticipate the opponent's next move in a fraction of a second."

"So in that way, we render them incapable of attack or defense," Negola added.

Altail continued talking, but Ehga had to admit that he wasn't too impressed with the Backdraft's show of force. Here were people they were aligning themselves with, and he wasn't quite happy with his skills being lumped in with that mess.

"So, what did you need to talk to us about?" Lady Fuma asked.

Altail's voice darkened. "You're familiar with the Blitz team? I want them defeated; do it in any way you can."

Oh, was that all? Ehga scoffed internally, and Fuma, the wonderful lady she was, took up the same sentiment. "Are you sure about that?" The Darkhorn's head seemed to perk at her sly response. "They may have defeated the Elephander, but they're nothing more than a third-rate team that's attracted attention in the lower ranks. If they face us in combat, they will never recover."

Altail growled. "I don't care. If the Liger Zero actually turns out to be the legendary Ultimate X, then your team will be the one that's defeated." The Darkhorn tossed it's head, and Ehga quirked an eyebrow. "Go after them, and don't hold back for any reason!"

"I understand your request."

—

Using the Backdraft's informants from within the ZBC, they easily obtained information about the Blitz Team's next battle against three Command Wolves on a steppe a few hours north. The Fuma Team were able to get that switched to a nice sandy pit without anyone the wiser.

Early, they swum up below ground, and as the Command Wolves lined up for battle, each of Fuma's men rose from the ground and shot the enemy Zoids in the chin; immediately bringing them crashing down. As they circled back underground, Altail appeared on their monitors.

"The Blitz team is fifteen minutes away."

"Oh no, I don't think I'm going to last!" Negola laughed. Altail scowled in return and cut off the connection.

Fuma's red Warshark immediately turned and slithered away. "I'm going to find a position to monitor the battle. Boys, you know what to do."

"Leave the Blitz Team a surprise?" Ehga said with a smirk, rising above ground again and grabbing a Command Wolf by its throat. Firing a few pulses from his beam cannon, he very nearly severed the head before spending a few moments cackling while demolishing the rest of the blue Zoid. Negola soon joined him, and by the time they were done, the unfortunate team's pilots were either knocked out or too terrified to talk.

Koga snorted at their antics, and Ehga swum up to join him, "I call the Liger Zero."

The stoic man didn't respond, and Negola finished their line just as the Hover Cargo came within shooting distance. Three Zoids mobilized, landing about fifty feet in front of them. The Liger Zero landed with a roar, dressed in only its white armor, and Ehga swam beneath it with a smirk etched onto his face.

The Blitz team saw the surprise he'd left for them, and there was no hiding the shock and anger in Cloud's voice when he yelled. "Who are you? And what are you doing butting into our Zoid battle?"

By then, though, Altail had activated the satellite system, and the Dark Judge came rocketing in for a landing, alighting in a nook near the large blue snail of a cargo ship. When it's hatch opened, Ehga heard the Judge laugh maniacally through Fuma's speakers, which were broadcasting to Koga, Negola, and himself. He then heard her comment under her breath, "You may have thought the Backdraft was terrifying before, but today we'll raise the bar a notch."

Ehga grinned, _Nothing like Fuma's pep talks. _

"Battle mode 0999. The Blitz Team versus the Fuma Team." A pause. "Ready? Fight!"

Ehga immediately dove away from his position, leaving a sinkhole directly beneath the Liger Zero. The Gunsniper and Command Wolf opened fire on the sand above him, leaving a cloud of dust that he used for cover as he leapt up to get a view of his handy work. He was just in time to see Cloud take a step forward and plunge up to his neck in sand. He cackled.

"Ehga, distract them." Negola said, inching behind the three enemy Zoids.

"I've got it," Koga responded before Ehga could get a word in, shooting off a laser pulse from his Warshark's mouth. Through the Gunsniper's external speakers, they all heard the girl yell, "You're nuts! You can't aim for the cockpit!"

Ehga chortled again, watching as Koga held the Blitz Team's attention, dodging the Command Wolf's bullets. Finally, Koga swiveled, leaping from the ground and above the Zoid's heads, letting out one of the Warshark's high-pitched shrieks. Then he dove underground as quick as a bullet, and Negola opened fire. The Blitz scattered and Ehga wasted no time in chasing down the Liger Zero.

His superior speed gave him an edge, and once he knew Cloud's trajectory, he jetted ahead, leapt and fired four of his back-mounted missiles. Unfortunately, that seemed to clue the kid in to his Warshark's speed, and the scaredy-cat began running straight back for the Hover Cargo. "Fuma!" He shouted as a warning.

She wasn't long on the uptake. "Oh, no you're not. Get him, Koga!"

"Roger."

Koga went for the Hover Cargo, and Ehga maneuvered himself behind the Liger Zero again, but he stayed far underground to avoid detection. The silly thing had no concept of where the Warsharks were on the field, and so it ran with reckless abandon towards Koga and the cargo ship. In one of his rare moments of snide commentary, Koga asked, "Beam or bullets?"

"Bullets," Negola replied.

"_Boring,_" Ehga answered with a faux yawn.

"No imagination," Koga mocked, and then slammed the Warshark into the rear of the blue snail. There was a tremendous ripping noise in their comm-link, and then Koga wrenched himself out of his self-made hole with a straight face.

The dark judge chuckled. "Battle mode 0999 has no rules! You either win…or lose."

"I couldn't have put it better myself," Fuma said as Koga powered on his boosters and sped away from the base.

"Not so fast, come back and fight like a fish!" Cloud yelled while chasing down Koga, not realizing Ehga was currently preparing his weapons systems to fire. As soon as the reticule focused, Ehga wrenched on his controls, driving himself straight upward. Ehga saw the Liger Zero pivot slowly for a moment, turning to look over its shoulder in shock before Ehga fired. Every shot that hit brought another layer of intense satisfaction to his psyche.

Forgetting to take a page out of his own book, Ehga heard the Command Wolf pilot shout from very near behind him, "You guys need to start playing by the rules!" Luckily for him, though, Negola wasn't long in grasping the Wolf's hind legs and accelerating the doglike Zoid into a nearby boulder.

"That should show him," the blue-haired Negola said with a smile.

Simultaneously, Koga shot the Gunsniper in the back, and Ehga easily sped past the Liger Zero's measly bullets to fire at its side. "This is almost too easy," Ehga said as he fired again.

"I'm so disappointed," Fuma drawled, poking the red nose of her Warshark above ground. The Blitz team was a shambles, and they looked frightened and confused, turning their heads back and forth searching for a hunter that chose when it was seen. "After all I'd heard of the Liger Zero, I expected more." She sighed. "Well, time to finish this." Her weapon's system locked, and she fired four missiles towards the prone Hover Cargo.

They hit, rocking the large ship to the side, and smoke billowed into the air, clouding her vision. When it cleared, the Liger Zero was mid-air, its right claw glowing in attack, and aiming for the Hover Cargo itself.

"All that adrenaline must have gone to the kid's head," Fuma said. She was likely correct, but a mixture of skill and luck brought the Liger Zero's claw into precisely the right location, and with a wrench of metal the Hover Cargo peeled open. She was quite aware that this Zoid was CAS capable, and knowing it was now possible for the battle to turn against them, shouted to her team. "Attention all units, finish off the Liger Zero at once!"

Her three men answered with a synchronized "roger," breaking their attacks and merging together below ground into a lethal triangle. No more playing around. In a few moments this rookie team would be decimated.

From within the sand Koga announced, "Priming torpedoes."

"No," Negola repudiated, "we need to go for a full-frontal assault."

"Whatever, just remember that I get first strike!" Ehga shouted and leapt from the ground towards the Liger Zero's beacon, quickly followed by his teammates. When they surfaced though, the Liger Zero was no longer above them, and all of their momentum was wasted as they soared high into the sky.

"What happened, where did he go?" Negola twisted to the right, looking for a sign of Bit Cloud and finding him running away from a few heat-seeking Gunsniper missiles. Then a _blam_ and his Warshark was thrust sideways, explosions stunning his Zoid until he crashed, paralyzed, on the sand below.

The Command Wolf leered over him, "Payback's a bitch, isn't it?"

"Dive!" Fuma shouted at them after seeing Negola taken out of the battle. Ehga responded immediately, and he was barely able to flip the entire one-eighty degrees before his nose hit the ground. It took a little wriggling, but he made it safely in the end. The same could not be said for Koga, unfortunately. With not enough height to completely turn, he ended up flopping around on the sand like a beached fish. "Go back for him!"

Ehga just had too slow of a speed to be able to pull a maneuver like that, and he had scarcely heaved himself horizontal before he heard the girl's voice mocking his friend. "Hello, little guppy. Time for an old fashioned fish fry!" He cringed when he heard the shots, and his monitor quickly showed Koga's Warshark to be out of commission.

"Regroup with me," Fuma ordered, diving deep below ground. "The Liger Zero Jager has mobilized. Bring him in from the East and I'll set up a sinkhole to trap him. Hurry!"

"Yes, my Lady," Ehga responded, running a hand through his now messy mohawk. This was the fast version of the Liger, if he remembered correctly. "Let's see how you compare to my Warshark," he growled, pushing his accelerator to the max and poking his nose above ground. He was going to watch this kid like a hawk, no more radar mishaps.

The Jager was sprinting parallel to him, its ion boosters blazing a bright white. _All I have to do is get him to max power, and he'll completely lose his maneuverability._ Ehga focused on using his last few ounces of acceleration, noticed the Jager wasn't trying anything funny, and then leapt for Bit Cloud's head.

The Jager easily dodged, and he ended up on the blue Zoid's right hand side. He leapt a few times to avoid any shots possibly heading his way, then jerked left, snapping at its ankles. The Liger jumped straight over him, but this time, when its paws hit the dirt, the light from its boosters amplified and it jetted forward in a blur of motion.

"What? Can't be!" Ehga gaped, _how could it be so fast?_ And then Bit Cloud pivoted to face him, accelerating even faster towards the shocked Warshark pilot. Ehga didn't even have a half-second to react; one moment he was staring down the blue mane of the Jager, and the next he had been flipped into the air and tossed onto his back with a sickening crunch.

Ehga's status flickered red on Fuma's screens, then blinked out as his Zoid's operating systems terminated. "I don't believe it!" Her radar showed the Jager still heading in her direction, and, knowing this was her only chance, propelled herself upward for a finishing blow. "It seems I might have underestimated the Blitz Team's skills somewhat."

When the Lady Fuma finally broke through the ground layer, her bright red Warshark's jaws gaping in a high-pitched scream, she finally got a good look at the supposed Ultimate X. A massive sinkhole unfurled beneath her, and Bit had no choice but to leap towards her. With the sun blazing behind her, she would surely blind him.

When they passed, Fuma deftly twisted to aim her guns at the underbelly of the Liger, but then her Zoid jittered, she heard that unfamiliar twist of metal, and her stomach dropped. "He got me with just one strike. But how?"

Her Warshark lost controllability before she even hit the ground, and she was forced to land ungracefully on her belly. The Jager landed with a triumphant roar, and somewhere in the echoes of her mind she heard the Dark Judge announce the Blitz Team as the winner.

Her vid-screen pinged and when she answered it Bit Cloud was staring her down. "Your moves were predictable, lady." A part of her was still feeling the aftershocks of their loss, and she only looked back at him in slight shock as he narrowed his eyes at her. "Tell the Backdraft that the Blitz Team will defeat anyone they send our way."

Trapped upside down within his cockpit, Ehga was forced to ruminate for over an hour as the Blitz team took their time rejuvenating the destroyed Command Wolf team before finally clearing out. Later, Altail stopped by to collect the broken-down Warsharks, and much to Ehga's embarrassment, his cockpit had jammed when Cloud had head-butted him, and he remained trapped within until various lackeys cut him out with lasers.

His fearless leader had said, "We'll train harder, and we'll defeat Bit Cloud and the Ultimate X the next time we meet."

What Lady Fuma hadn't known then was that they wouldn't, not even with the updated Neo Warsharks and the entire Backdraft organization behind them. And past that failure, the next time they saw Cloud, he was traipsing around with the Blitz Team celebrating his win over the Berserk Fury.

It wasn't the defeats that made Ehga hate him, it was those moments then, when he was sitting in a hospital bed and was forced to watch Bit run around reveling in his victory over all the people whose lives he had crushed. Ehga had fought, every day of his life, _every day_, just to survive. Then, these Ultimate X's had waltzed into the picture, picked some idiot pilots, and destroyed him. It Just. Wasn't. _Fair._

. . .

In the kitchen of the Champ base, Mary was a frazzled mess, hurriedly stirring a bowl of dough while barking orders at each of Harry's robots. Her hair was in a perfect French braid however. Propriety was an important attribute, after all.

"The eggs, Benjamin, the eggs!"

Benjamin bleeped excitedly, running from the kitchen and across the foyer towards their second fridge. On the way he passed Leena, who had let herself in. Harry, she knew, was waiting for her out back, and she walked towards him with a heavy heart.

She had spent days weighing her thoughts, but it wasn't until he called her this morning that she had finally reached a decision. She had come here with one thought on her mind, and she was going to follow through on it.

"Harry," she said plainly. He stood from the bench he sat on, and his eyes and shoulders were tense with stress.

"Please sit down."

Leena lowered herself onto the bench, and he soon joined her, grasping her hand within his.

"My Leena-senses have been tingling. Is something wrong?"

"You have Leena-senses?" She asked wryly.

"It's a direct evolution of your right hook," Harry replied with a smile that flickered out quickly. "You've been avoiding me recently...more than usual, that is."

"I've had a lot of thinking to do."

"Me too," he responded.

She watched as his other hand drifted to his pocket, slowly pulling something out. Her eyes darted away, and she hid behind a curtain of hair. When she yanked her hand away she heard him still and hold his breath. Finally, she asked, "Can I see it?"

He handed it over, and Leena gingerly opened the small velvet box. "It is a beautiful ring, Harry."

He looked from her pensive face down to her delicate hands folded around the ring he'd designed from scratch and engraved with their names. "You don't want it, do you?"

She raised her eyes, finally looking straight at him, and they were swimming with tears. "No, I don't. I'm so sorry."

His hands trembled as he took it back from her, quickly closing the box so he wouldn't have to see the embodiment of all of his crushed hopes. Half of him wanted to ask _why _a thousand times, but his other half understood her rejection. "You'll…I hope…" Harry rubbed the back of his hand across his eyes. "I'll always love you."

Leena immediately launched herself forward, enveloping him in a bone-crushing hug. Her tears leaked into his collar, but she knew that no amount of sadness on her part could make up for how she'd hurt him.

She felt lighter for having finally passed this milestone in her life, but here, holding this sad boy in her arms, she couldn't help but hate herself just a little.

. . .

_Fifteen weeks_

A bubble of laughter rose in Lady Fuma's throat as she stared up at the gleaming eyes of the Genosaur Commander Altail had given to her. When she glanced to her left, she could see the same unadulterated glee reflected in the rest of her team. She took a few steps forward, and suddenly they were clustered around her, grinning. She supposed this was an ideal time for an inspiring speech, but no words came to mind before Koga wrapped his arms around herself, Ehga, and Negola and she was subjected to her first ever group hug.

What was there to say anyways? They had just been handed the most powerful Zoids on the planet. They had trained and became some of Zi's top warriors. The Backdraft would takeover on the morrow. Never again would they have to hide in the shadows. Here, at the end, were the three people closest to her heart. They had finally made it.

—

On the morning of the Royal Cup, Fuma's eyes snapped open twenty minutes before her alarm. The bubble of excitement that she had fallen asleep with had followed her to the morning. Even when her alarm finally went off, and she had to scamper out of her shower and across the base's cold tile to turn it off, her buzz wasn't diminished. In fact, she had grinned so wide all morning, that by the time she was strapping herself into her Genosaur, her cheeks were sore. When Koga caught her massaging her face, he had laughed.

"Fuma, mobilizing Genosaur Alpha." The rest of her team mobilized Beta, Gamma, and Delta and followed her into the wide expanse of Zi's desert battleground. She contacted Commander Altail. "Sir, we are excited and ready to go."

"Excited? The leader of the infamous and secretive Fuma Team?" Altail said sarcastically.

"Excitement doesn't do this feeling justice. I feel _invincible._" She performed a hand signal, and her boys fanned out to her sides. Vega's coordinates downloaded onto their radars, and another hand signal sent Ehga and Negola running ahead. Their plan was simple and elegant—surround the boy, and then disintegrate him.

"Let's hope that translates to the battlefield," he replied smarmily, logging off.

Funnily enough, even Altail's sour attitude towards Sarah Obscura's fledgling warrior wasn't enough to disturb her mood. "Come, Koga."

Soon enough, the dark judge satellites were streaming through the sky, and reports came in through their monitors of the Backdraft's increasing success during their takeover. When the excessive reports became inane, Koga flicked down the volume and listened to his Lady Fuma chuckle happily to herself. "After all this time, it comes down to a young boy."

"After everything we've done, what's one more innocent?" Fuma smirked. "Besides, we deserve this victory."

Koga _hmmm_ed quietly. "So it's cosmic. But what of our karma?"

Fuma's eyebrows shot up, but before she responded Negola's voice echoed animatedly through their comm-link. "Fury spotted! Updating your maps."

"Game-time, boys!" She gestured Koga northward, and shifted her trajectory towards the Berserk Fury. "Cut the radio chatter—keep everything internal. I don't want him to know we're here until we've cornered him."

All three of her men smiled and nodded, and then all of her screens went black. She strode forward across the sandy desert, her Genosaur as precise and fluid as the raptor it was. The lack of distraction gave her the time to admire this legendary Zoid, and everything amazed her from the swish of its tail to the gleaming jaws that snapped open and closed beneath her feet. It was a fine-tuned, lethal machine, and the fact that all of that power was resting within the joysticks held in her hands made her heart beat fast with adrenaline. It was like the beast had been waiting for her to come along and complete the circuit.

The Genosaurs were old machines, and Altail had been unable to complete the amenities most pilots were babied with in the Class tournaments. The Alpha unit, for one, lacked a good hydraulic system, and Fuma's cockpit jittered with every movement of her Genosaur. Off-handedly, she wondered if the blast shields had at least been installed. Regardless, it was only going to take one shot to end this final battle, and her legs going a little numb was a small price to pay.

Then the Fury came into view, the waves of heat that shimmered the desert air finally dissipating enough for her to see Vega's Ultimate X standing absolutely still. "Move in!"

As one, the Genosaurs sped up—a pack of Velociraptors heading in for the kill. She saw Ehga, Negola, and Koga closing off the corners of their box, and soon Vega was entrapped within. Vega made no attempt to contact them.

"You know our orders, boys." Fuma looked down at her display, activating the locking mechanisms on her Zoid's feet. Automatically, her Genosaur bent forward, the jaws beneath her opening up to reveal her CPC. "Charging particle cannon," she stated as she saw the telltale glows begin in the Beta, Gamma, and Delta units as well.

The ground beneath her feet vibrated. It rumbled like thunder through her bones. The glare of bright white light increased, and as it did her cockpit's upgraded glass darkened. Soon enough the contrast had amplified to such a large effect that she was looking out at a black and white world. Outside, Ehga, Negola, and Koga were nearly at maximum power, and Vega remained unflinching. "Fire!"

The beams launched, combining and morphing into a giant ball of energy that completely eclipsed the Berserk Fury.

"Is it done?" Negola asked.

"Whew! Someone forgot to install an air conditioning system in this thing!" Ehga yelled.

"Koga?" Fuma called when she heard beeps coming from his link. He responded half a second later, his voice as calm and stoic as ever.

"My lady, my systems are critical. Something has ruptured."

Then their storm evaporated, and within its eye sat a completely unharmed Ultimate X.

Fuma's grey eyes widened with utter shock. "Impossible!" Then, the Fury's jaws creaked open. "Koga, retreat!"

_NO!_

—

Fuma's eyes fluttered open. She was hanging from the belt of her seat—near face down. With fumbling fingers she released the clasp and collapsed onto the buckled, metal floor of her Genosaur. An accumulated puddle of sour-smelling blood seeped into her clothes. She knew it was her own, but her body was in shock, and she felt no wounds.

Her ears ached, and belatedly she realized she had never experienced a silence so profound.

She raised an arm to the manual latch on the cockpit, and then rolled out onto the desert sand. Lying on her back, her insides began to throb, and she put a protective arm around her abdomen to hold herself together. Distantly, Ehga was screaming. In the corner of her eye she saw flames.

But it was Koga who had been in the most danger. She flipped herself over and told herself _crawl. _Told herself _one step at a time. _Told herself _this is your fault, these are your men, and you will keep them alive. _She was afraid to look for Negola. The sand turned shades of pink as it stuck to the blood on her arms, and it stung like salt across her stomach. She was afraid to look down—too scared she might see a trail of her guts behind her.

When she reached Koga's dead Genosaur, she heaved herself onto her knees using its warped and crumpled head. She felt the back of her mind beginning to panic, because this shape was much too small for a human, but forced it away. Her vision whirled, but the adrenaline coursing through her gave energy to her limbs, and they scrambled over the Genosaur's skeleton—looking for any crevice to pry open the cockpit.

"Open, damn you!"

But the cockpit was too destroyed, or her arms were too weak. She crumpled in on herself, falling back into the desert sand. They had lost. She had failed them. She was suddenly aware that all of the control, all of the power she thought she had, was false. It always had been.

So, she gave up. It was a bottom she'd never known and knew she'd never fully escape. She closed her eyes, leaving their lives to chance, and knowing Zi had finally taken everything from her.

—

Fuma opened her eyes again, but a long way away and a thick amount of time later. Those eyes had seen too much, now. They had seen Koga a paraplegic, Negola a sewing circle's dark nightmare, and Ehga's fevered gaze whenever he was unfortunate enough to wake. The four of them were a grotesquerie. She had seen too many doctors, and too many portraits of Backdraft members that the ZBC had thrust in her face and asked for names of. Most of all, though, she had been forced to watch too many celebrations and parades and heroic fucking pictures of Bit Cloud and the fucking Liger Zero.

Someone knocked on her door and _Nyx_, she was going to have to deal with it all again.

An old man opened her door, surprisingly not flanked by any guards. She almost thought of escaping, but gave that up quickly; he was built more like a wrestler, and she recognized him as a chairman of the ZBC.

She sneered. "What do you want?"

His white, wiry mustache twitched in displeasure. "The Backdraft's member list has been uncovered, and the Fuma Team are no longer suspects. All charges are dropped due to lack of proof."

He stood aside, and Fuma approached. When she passed him in the doorway he grabbed the back of her shirt and pushed her ahead of him, walking her through the bone-white hallways. Later, they would say _You have your freedom,_ but they could not hope to understand the fury her helplessness had created. She would be a slave to revenge for the rest of her life.

. . .

Naomi exited her base wearing her trademark burgundy. Brad watched her approach with her confidant swagger, and by the time she had slipped her arms around his waist, he was sporting a boyish grin.

"Hello, lover," she drawled.

Quite unable to help himself, Brad pulled her in for a deep kiss, for which she happily obliged. "Busy tonight?"

"I think Bit planned a party for us," she said bemusedly.

He snorted. "Bit can barely plan breakfast." Brad grabbed her hands and held her at arms length, "Nice dress." He gave her a twirl, openly admiring the perfection with which she showcased her curves. He grinned. "Let's ditch these geeks."

Naomi laughed. "I want my slice of cake first."

Suddenly, Leon appeared at their side, sliding a pair of sunglasses into the collar of his shirt. "I've been calling your name for the past five minutes."

"I was about to answer," Brad replied coolly. Leon raised an eyebrow, and Brad internally shrugged. True, sometimes he felt guilty about missing whole swaths of conversations because he couldn't get past the image of her fingers tangling in his hair. But honestly, what did Leon expect? Naomi was always going to win out over carting about foldout tables.

"Let's sit down," Naomi ventured, "it's getting hot, and it's high time for a break."

The three warriors set upon the pile of tables and chairs they had gathered throughout the morning, finally deciding upon a sturdy wooden bench they'd commandeered from Harry's base. When they sat, Brad tucked Naomi beneath his arm, and she folded happily against him.

Leon sat opposite them, wiping his brow with the back of his hand. "It is too hot for any human contact," he said, gesturing between Brad and Naomi.

"It's worth it," Naomi replied with a chuckle.

"The desert heat is deep within my bones now—I think I'd be lost without it," Brad shrugged. "Maybe you spent too much time sleeping in your temperature-controlled room."

"_Ha ha,_" Leon responded sarcastically.

"You are feeling better though, right? No dizziness?"

Leon waved a hand dismissively, smirking. "I could beat the two of you in a Zoid battle with one eye closed."

"You keep telling yourself that, bud."

"Are you ever going to tell us why you were sick in the first place?"

Leon cast his eyes about the docked bases surrounding them in a semicircle, and if he squinted he could just barely catch sight of his sister and Harry. "We got into a scrap with a group of thugs. You know how it can be," he shrugged, "the fight just drained me."

Brad and Naomi gave him a skeptical look. He may have been able to evade the others, but these two were a harder sell.

"Look, it doesn't matter much either way." He noticed his sister had left, and a thought resurfaced that had been wiggling at the back of his mind. "I noticed something much more important during that entire escapade." Leon paused to fold his hands together (a tell that Brad had picked up on—during poker it meant he better fold or risk losing the rest of his money to Leon). "I'm not always around, and it's hard to keep an eye on my younger sister. Leena's getting a lot older, and now she lives down the hallway from a boy her own age…"

Brad quirked an eyebrow and Leon trailed off. "If you mean Bit, they've been avoiding each other like the plague. You have nothing to worry about."

"Well…"

"I'll keep a metal bat on hand just in case," Brad replied with a smirk.

A little ways away, Jamie exited the Hover Cargo carrying a pitcher of lemonade. He'd caught sight of the three elder warriors taking a break from the day's activities, and thought it was a great opportunity to escape his father. He also didn't see Leena anywhere, which was a good sign after the outrageously embarrassing conversation he'd been forced to go through with her.

As Jamie walked across the desert, the lemonade wore out his arm and he tried to juggle it between his hands while wedging four cups beneath his chin. Obviously, he very nearly spilt the entire pitcher down his shirt, and his yelps quickly alerted the trio at the center table of his presence.

"Dad made a ton of it," he explained, offering cups. With the desert sun blasting down on all of them, the cold lemonade was a welcome treat, and they accepted the drink quickly.

"There's something missing." Leon smacked his lips thoughtfully. "Don't you usually add more sugar?"

"I do," Jamie sighed, "but I think Dad is planning on pouring tequila in when we're not looking."

"Oscar's right," Naomi said jokingly, "tequila is what's missing." She winked at Leon.

Brad chuckled alongside her. "That does remind me of a great story."

Leon put his head in his hands. "Oh, don't remind me."

. . .

_Fifteen days_

Negola watched the blue dye run through his fingers and down the sink's drain. The blue tone made the water look more real, like liquid from a clear, deep lake. Glancing up, he checked to make sure all of his roots were recolored with the iconic indigo. Yep. While looking at his visage, however, it was impossible to not notice the tiny white scars that threaded their way across his brow and down his cheeks. No amount of personal care could color over those.

Behind him, the clock blinked a steady 2:02 at him, and he rubbed the afternoon nap from his eyes, careful to avoid streaking blue across his face. Too many night shifts, skulking around in the dark like rodents, and only able to look forward to another night of empty gloom.

On the greener side of the bridge, the ghostly pallor he was growing might blend with the permanent etchings the ghouls had scrawled across him as the gods had weighed his soul. (Interested in the end of the story? Both sides had found him lacking.)

Negola turned, ruffling his hair with a towel to catch the last drops of water, when his eye caught the clock again. He flickered between the reflection and the object in front of him with growing revelation. Blast his idiocy. It was 5:05 and he was late to his meeting with the rest of the Fuma Team, _again._

He leapt from his small room and strode hurriedly down the walkway, trying to look as unfrazzled as possible. _Zoid Eve_, he prayed, _don't let her crush one of my balls like she threatened last time._

Sliding open the gliding door to the meeting room, he almost crashed straight into Ehga, all sneer and fight. He stepped back, giving his friend space to allow the door to click shut behind him.

"Finally deigning to arrive, pretty boy?"

"I slept in." He replied curtly. "What did I miss?"

"I'm stuck on training duty again. And some nonsense about Polta's brave, informative, and important mission." Ehga shouldered past him, and they warred an instant for dominance. When Ehga won, he stared back at him with a cold glare. "That blue-haired _freak_." Then he turned and left, taking the swirl of rage and frustration with him, and leaving Negola wondering, not for the first time, _just what had happened to them._

—

"My lady."

The Lady Fuma turned from her pensive staring at the wall and glanced at the speaker out of the corner of her eye. "Negola, are you almost finished with the jigs?"

"No, ma'am. They won't be done for a while yet. It's a big beast."

"Better late then never," she groused. "By the way, have you—"

"—seen Koga?"

"I was planning on saying 'spoken to Ehga.'"

"I wouldn't call it...speaking."

Fuma sighed tiredly, "He expects me to coddle or cater to him nonstop. It's maddening."

"He's just frustrated. We're your team, and you're supposed to trust us with more. You say you don't want to coddle us but you treat us like newborn whelps."

"Nonsense."

"Then explain why Koga is on a mission that _we_ aren't allowed to hear about. Why the secret? Us three guys used to be equals; what's changed?"

He leveled a hard stare at her, but Fuma's gaze suddenly morphed into something so pointed and so wicked that he was instantly jolted and broke eye contact.

In that fraction of a second that he was distracted, a shift came over the room, a new layer of power, another tactic. She smiled at him with the brightest, most beautiful smile he'd ever seen her wear, and she took three steps toward him, the very epitome of comfort and friendship.

_Well, for starters, he doesn't have legs._

Negola blinked, and she had a hand on his bicep, and he knew he'd missed something, something important, but he couldn't catch up fast enough to know.

"Nene," Nene? If he was wary before, he was fully off-balance now. She chuckled good-humoredly. "You're the one with the most important, top secret, and deliciously blasphemous job! How funny that you thought it was the other way around."

Welding was blasphemous? No wonder the gods spit his soul back into his body!

She looked up at him through her brows, studying his reaction in that strangely crazed and devilish look. But surely, no, he was mistaken. She was just smiling conspiratorially at him.

"I'll tell you a secret, Nene," there she went with that Nene again, "because you were always the funniest, and the most...open-minded of us all." She lowered her voice to a hush, and partially leaned in, as if spreading a schoolyard secret. _Didn't you know? Koga has cooties._ "I'm going to kill him."

No…that was nonsensical. He always _had_ been the worst at Telephone.

She had said something about...now what was it...something about keeping Koga's mind keen. Giving him mundane tasks to let him feel useful. Yes, precisely. He was her favorite.

Negola that is. Not Koga. Negola wasn't doing mundane tasks.

Yes, surely that's what she had said.

When he left, the door closing behind him with a click and the question of how long she was going to stand in that room by herself at the back of his thoughts, it was easy to realize that she was completely nuts. The budding quandary was whether he was too.

Oh well, he would save it for another night. Today there were jigs to build and revenges to sate.

. . .

The Elephander trekked stodgily through the Prozen Desert, its heavy feet kicking up dust and leaving footprints for creatures to play hopscotch in. It towed a single flatbed transport with a bright red corvette covered in a sandy tarp. However, more remarkable than a prizewinning Zoid acting as shuttle for a sports car, was it acting as shuttle for a bright white Stormsworder that perched on its back like an oversized oxpecker.

It was, of course, the teal-haired aerial fighter Pierce, and ex-Backdraft, ex-mentoree Sanders. The two knew each other, and had shared a few drinks over their lives, but never had an occasion cropped up where they had decided to take a long walk through a desert together. So, whatever amiable silence they had formed had stretched thin quite a ways back.

"What is making you look so pensive?"

Sanders had bright green eyes, and they widened comically when he realized Pierce had caught him. "I was just thinking about the Captain. Do you think he left because he's sick?"

"I believed him when he said all he wanted was to completely start over."

"It just doesn't sit right with me."

"Sanders…the Count and Altail are in jail. The best Backdraft fighter was a kid with barely all of his grownup teeth. The rookie Bit Cloud beat Captain Stoller in a fair battle." Pierce folded her boots on the dashboard in front of her, coolly slipping her sunglasses on. "The age of old men is passed. It's time for the younger generation to take charge of Zi. Stoller recognized that."

Sanders frowned. "Do you think I'll unlock the full potential of the Elephander without him?"

"Just stomp around less and I'm sure you'll do fine." She winked and Sanders chortled. "Now, where is this safehouse of yours? I am in full need of a shower."

Sanders fiddled with the radar on the Elephander. "Not for a day or so, sorry, but you'll just have to stink."

"I could have been there hours ago."

"Yeah, you and what keycard?"

"My missile system is starting to look really good."

Sanders leveled a finger at her through the vid-screen. "You break my base, I break your face."

Sanders' threat fell through almost immediately as he broke into chuckles. Pierce shook her head in mock annoyance, Sanders' banter surprisingly amusing her. But before she got too caught up in light-hearted conversation, she decided to give herself some space. "I'm going to stretch the Stormsworder's wings," she said quickly, launching from the Elephander's back. As she gained altitude, Sanders waved its trunk at her in acknowledgement.

The sun was just beginning to set on the horizon. From the sky, it looked like a bright blob of egg yolk. The clouds carried in beautiful colors, red and orange, even some wisps of pink scattered like cotton candy above her head. _Argh._ Her stomach rumbled, and Pierce rummaged around uselessly, knowing her only bag of chips was down in her corvette. Sanders had better be cooking her a _giant_ dinner tomorrow.

Straightening in her pilot's chair after her fruitless search, Pierce was shocked to see a tiny smoke trail arcing towards her. An anti-air missile? What air space was she in? (Dodging one missile was easy—she could do it in her sleep.) At the last moment, she banked fast to the left, and the missile exploded near her underbelly. A quick scan of the systems showed everything green.

"Sanders, I just got fired on."

"I saw that," he said gruffly. "If we're potentially going into battle, can I put my tent in your car?"

Just as she was waving him to it, a flustered man popped into her vid-screen. He had short black hair and was wearing a bright yellow and purple jacket. He saw her lip jutting out, and blushed sheepishly. "I'm sorry we fired on you, ma'am. I'm just barely getting the hang of the defense grid."

She snorted, then tampered with her monitor, trying to reason how they'd hacked her system so easily. In the meantime, another similarly dressed man stepped into view. Something he saw obviously impressed him, and he stuttered until Pierce raised a delicate eyebrow.

"Omari is extremely stupid and sorry for firing on you, miss." The sandy-haired man bowed. "I'm Lineback. Can we offer you a slice of cake as an apology?"

"Perhaps."

The screen went black, but she heard Lineback cheer. "Kirkland, get an extra chair!"

The man she presumed was Kirkland responded angrily. "I'm the one who gives orders around here!" A pause. "Omari, get an extra chair!"

Finally, the connection ended, and Sanders was on her screen with his eyebrows practically in his hair.

"Do we check it out?"

Sanders shrugged. "Why not? If they're weird, I'll just stomp around a little."

So they triangulated the yellow-and-purple team signal and pattered over until a group of transport bases came into view. The bases were of various origin and species, but together they formed a protective circle around a motley crew of tables and chairs, within which sat eighteen characters. It didn't look much like a ploy for banditry, so Pierce and Sanders hesitantly exited their Zoids and approached.

Both ex-Backdraft members were struck simultaneously with familiarity, and Sanders said, "Royal cup warriors," while Pierce said, "Bit Cloud!"

A loaf of bread with precariously lit candles sat in the center of the tables, and a robot trundled forward carrying a large multi-tiered wedding cake.

Pierce cleared her throat and asked, "What's the occasion?"

A ragtag bunch of answers assaulted her, shouted by various members of the congregation. "It's Jack's birthday!" "Brad and Naomi are getting married." "Harry's finally come to his senses." "It's Leon's belated Get Well Soon party." "We're officially S-class." "Dad broke the sound barrier!"

The cacophony died down and for a moment there was silence as they all blinked at each other. Then Pierce shrugged, Sanders grinned, and the party began in earnest.

_…and no one knows._

. . .

_Next time on Zoids:_

_"This is Brad Hunter. I prefer to mind my own business, but trouble is always knocking on our door. Fuma issues us a challenge we can't ignore, and a cold and calculated strike begins against the ZBC and the Ultrasaurus. We may feel tough, but we're just ants watching a battle between gods. Next time on Zoids: Fall of the Twin Moons—The End Game Begins. Build your walls strong and your trenches deep. Ready? Fight!"_

* * *

><p><strong>Disclaimer: <strong>I do not own NC0. I also do not own the Fuma/Blitz battle, that's a rewrite of the show, actually. Also don't own the 'more upbeat attitude!' phrase.

**Just** so you know, Pierce and Sanders weren't immediately accepted into the circle of everlasting friendship. At one point, Leena definitely yelled at Sanders for wrecking her Dibison and he was awkwarded out for awhile.

And also so we're clear…if someone tells Mary to make a cake, she makes a wedding cake. None of that small stuff. Because of this, someone decided it would be funny to tease Brad and Naomi. They aren't getting married, no worries.

And…the nice round number of twenty good-guy warriors are together and prepared for the finale! Woo-hoo! Stoller is officially retired—he will not be seen again. I also like the image of Pierce's Stormsworder perched on the back of the Elephander.

I have a feeling you guys won't like this episode much, but I've decided to accept that. It's a cap on everything that's happened and gives me the ability to move into a finale. This chapter was mainly supposed to give you a look into the Fuma team. You have to 'mourn them because no one else will.' It's also extended to give a re-cap of the rest of the characters. I didn't include the Desert Gang or Dr. Laon at all though; it's business as usual for them. Polta and Stoller you hear about off-handedly. The Fuma scenes really overtook the chapter, but hopefully I broke up the monotony for you with other pieces.

However, I think Leena and Harry acted as they should and would act. If this were specifically a romance story, I would have spent time following their heads before their final scene was written. However, I think the reader can infer what's happened for them between last chapter and this. Also, now that he isn't thinking about marriage and being madly in love all the time, Harry finally has the space to find himself. TheDragooner, you mentioned a few things about Harry/Bit/Leena and (as a girl) I have the following to say: we all have the Harrys in our life who will love us endlessly, and the Bits who we run after. I think if you're a romantic you would go after the Bit, and if you're a realist you'd stay with Harry. Or maybe I'm just being depressing because my boyfriend and I broke up recently.

I think there are some beautiful scenes in this episode. But there are also parts that make me want to but a gun barrel to my temple and fire. If I have a favorite part, it's Negola's scene with Fuma. It just gets deliciously creepy at the end.

**Reviews: **Avengeme: Yes, too bad isn't it? :) Thanks for reviewing! Please stick around to see what happens to the wreck-tangle.

John Doe: I loved your enthusiasm hahaha. Like, seriously loved it. Sorry for the awkward middle school dance ending! I have to keep you guys on your toes hahaha. Yes, no relationships started on lies or without Leena ending things with Harry—that's an important element that I've seen missing from BL fics. I'm so glad no one can tell how the wreck-tangle will proceed, especially because this chapter keeps things still ambiguous! :]

RougeBaron: Thank you for the kind words :) It's very flattering and I appreciate it greatly. I guess the chapters are long? Especially this one -_- For me, they take about 20 minutes to read if I go moderate speed. That's about an episode length, yes? It's what I'm going for at least. And yes, I did watch the deleted scenes hahaha. I work for nobody...just graduated and still looking. Sikorsky is awesome though—my school made up a few conceptual designs for the Sikorsky challenge. They were terrible hahaha.

Gojiralee. When you said, "will he ever rid himself of his Toros fat?" I laughed long and loud. Everything about your review made me feel wonderful. I was stressed, and melancholy because of it, but then I read your review and my day completely turned around. My _week_ turned around. Thank you so, so much. Also: Poor Harry indeed, especially this chapter, but he will finally mature up by NOT getting what he wants for once. Laon...I'm still deciding with him.

TheDragooner: Answers to your review are sort of scattered within this AN heh heh. I'm glad you think I pegged Jamie right :) and that you enjoyed his scenes. I didn't enjoy Harry at all either in the episodes, but the more I write him, the more I wonder if that was just a combination of his character's look and voice. If you look at his character arc itself, he's not so bad. (Firstly, super annoying. Gives up his chance for Class A because his robot falls in love. Fights for his love of Leena and Zoid battling when Mary arrives. Almost dies to protect Leena). A lot of lame stuff in between, but all around, not too shabby. A Liger Zero Phoenix Schneider would be a mouthful indeed, but it would be awesome wouldn't it? Side-blades would be genius for an aerial combat Zoid. I hope that blurb isn't based on anything, and 'poetry' is high-praise! Thank you! And thanks for telling me your favorite parts; I really try and write memorable scenes, so I really like hearing that you notice them!

Randcomcat23: YES, Don Quixote! He's my favorite. :D I giggle happily knowing that you caught that. I'm so glad you liked this chapter, and that you found the wreck-tangle 'glorious'! I got the most reviews ever for a chapter in one month, and it was one of my favorites, so I am just so happy about it. And I'm so glad that the characters pop off the screen for you—that will definitely be needed when there are battles happening. I'll be sure to make a lot of effort in making sure the battles do not get dry. Brad just slinks around in the background being a smartass, gotta love him haha.

To Gojiralee, TheDragooner, and Randcomcat23: The "not-a-god Zoid" will be all in our faces next chapter! It will be awesome hopefully. It'll get its proper names too, so we won't have to call it a "not-a-god Zoid" hahaha. And, yes, it's a total tank!

**Whew. **My A/Ns are massive. I apologize. But I prefer to respond here and not in a PM, because your reviews shape and inspire the story, and for that they should be included. SO glad that things came back mostly positive for EP 21! Super glad you all didn't go 'blech—romance'! I can't wait to show you how it all ends. And on that note:

**Here's the important part. **I DON'T want to do a 1 month between chapters thing. I want to finish this up in June/July. I want the finale to be read quick so you aren't forgetting about the story. My goal is this: June 14, June 28, July 12, July 26. Four chapters. Two months. I'ma crank 'em out. I'm currently jobless and schoolless...soo...I should do it. I will probably PM everyone who has ever reviewed when I upload Part 1. So. See you all soon, and thank you for everything :)


	23. Episode 23

Episode Twenty-Three

_Fall of the Twin Moons—The End Game Begins_

_"Yankee Doodle came to town, so to please the crowd, _

_we will tar and feather him, and so we will Bit Cloud."_

_The wind howled and rain crashed against her lab's windows. A ground base had been difficult to afford and hide, but it was well worth it for these situations. Especially since she would not have been able to perform this experiment had the Hammerhead been tossing about in the sky._

"Launch in T minus ten."

_Together, her and the old mechanic melded mind and metal. The organic mixed with the inorganic and she created order from chaos. It was surreal, godlike. Yet, by definition she was now a god wasn't she? She had created life from death._

"Five."

_The thunder thrashed louder, threatening to shatter the thick glass. The storm tonight was fitting. The world should scream at her deeds. How could a dream so sacrilegious go unnoticed?_

"One."

_And the beast woke, and with it, Zi trembled and the ground shook in fear and fury. An abomination and corruption of the vilest sort. And as Adam and Eve were banished and gorged on the fruits they passed, in a manner so gluttonous that they vomited upon their exit from Eden, and so birthed all monsters of the world from seeds and bile; so too was the beast a pure creature of doom borne of hate and vanity. Fear it, Zi, fear it. Because it should never have known such a thing as love._

"And we have Moonfall."

—

Red Bull sat in his Force-issued Houndsoldier and squinted up at the sky, awaiting the landing of the Ultrasaurus. The anticipation had his entire platoon excited—the rookie, Caeli, most of all. He'd told her the capsule for the Zoid was as large as a mountain, and she'd believed him.

The ZBC had debriefed him on the creature, however, and it's true size was still nothing to laugh at. Apparently it was so large that it functioned as a base, and they had to keep it in a low-gravity environment to increase the lifespan of its joints. Because of this, there was less than a once in a lifetime chance of seeing the beast, and he was lucky to be a part of its ground escort. Unfortunately, he'd never be able to talk about it—too much red tape.

A bright spot appeared in the sky, and he zoomed his Houndsoldier's screen as far as it could go. Either that was a giant comet coming to kill them all, or the Ultrasaurus was incoming.

Caeli, of course, chose this moment to be the epitome of unseasoned. She popped onto his vid-screen with her sky-blue eyes stretched wide. She was a tiny slip of a thing with the traditional short-cropped hair, and she looked completely out of place within her tanky, porcupine Gunblaster. "Sir, is it true that the Lieutenant is leaving for the Northern Wastelands?"

"He's already left," Red Bull responded with a roll of his eyes.

"He's going after that mysterious power source isn't he? The one that killed the Red Baron and his platoon on the Eastern Sea?"

Oh, Helic. Did she really believe _everything_ she heard? "Caeli, it was a storm. Now focus on the mission."

"Right, boss." Red Bull had a few blessed moments of silence before she re-arrived on his screen. He sighed. "Sir, are there supposed to be reporters here?"

"No!" Those lunatics at ZNN were perpetually trying to get him court-marshaled! "Where are those Spinosappers?"

"Offline, sir."

"Get them online!"

"We can't while Ground is communicating with the Moonfall, sir."

Red Bull wiped a hand tiredly across his face. "What brilliant engineer designed that?"

"I hear he was fired recently, sir."

Was everyone on this planet insane except for him? Honestly! Red Bull stamped forward in his Houndsoldier, lowering the lances on either side of the Zoid's head. They weren't as good as his Cannonfort's charged horn attack, but they would do.

There was a ZBC worker frantically jumping around, trying to tackle a ZNN cameraman who fastidiously kept rolling. Because of this, the newscast was slightly jumpy, but the Blitz team still watched it at complete attention—hoping for a glimpse of the famous Ultrasaurus. Instead, they saw a doglike Zoid advancing towards the ZNN worker, intending to intimidate him into submission.

A tremendous crash saved him from whatever wrath the Houndsoldier might have inflicted, and the reporter was able to shout, "Viewers, behold, the unveiling of the Ultrasaurus!"

Dr. Toros let out what could only be called a squeal of excitement. In the center of the common room's table, Dr. Toros had placed his model of the Ultrasaurus and surrounded it in candles to form a mini-shrine. Now, he hurriedly relit a candle that had blown out in his enthusiasm.

The Houndsoldier glanced behind itself, distracted, and the feed zoomed in on an enormous metallic pod. It peeled like petals off a flower, and the sand sizzled when the descent-heated layers hit the ground. Finally, the yellow brachiosaurus was revealed—tucked in on itself like a feline. Steadily its tail unfurled and its neck untwisted until it stood at full height. The ZBC may have called the dinosaur its second moon, but it shone as brilliantly and as proudly as the sun.

The radio lines of the ZBC buzzed as a team of engineers ran system checks. The Houndsoldier diverted towards the massive Zoid, catching onto the trail of an old man that had begun plodding steadily towards it. Slowly, they marched forward until the old man could place a caring hand on the Ultrasaurus' leg. The entire platoon silenced as the Ultrasaurus' head dipped and the man climbed into the command center.

Within, at a center dais, a blank screen awaited the press of the old man's hand. He spoke one word. "Mobilize."

In an instant, his hand was scanned and the entire command center blinked on. The vast screen, that was the eyes of the Ultrasaurus, immediately tuned into the desert below. Two windows opened in the bottom corners of the screen—the left connected to the Platoon Sergeant in his Houndsoldier, and the right connected to his lead tech.

The tech employee cleared his throat. "Ultrasaurus mobilized. Commissioner, Moonfall is complete."

The Commissioner heard a dull cheer through his external soundboxes, but a _ping _from the Ultrasaurus' advanced radar system quickly distracted him. "What is that?"

The reporter clued in for his televised audience, panning his camera after the object. "An unidentified craft has just been spotted flying over the area!"

As the Guardian Force wasted precious seconds sending the necessary warnings to the ship, the Blitz team immediately recognized the danger, and Bit gave voice to their thoughts. "It's Fuma's Hammerhead."

_It's headed towards the Crescent._ Knowing that the land base was potentially in danger, the Commissioner leapt into action, even if his cohorts reprimanded him for breaking procedure. "Ultrasaurus, charge Particle Cannon. Fire at that ship!"

The enemy Zoid flew further away, quickly becoming small against the backdrop of sky. A shield had activated, protecting its nose and sides, but its tail would not escape damage. A small blip in the screen alerted the Commissioner that the CPC had finished charging, and immediately the powerful blast ripped from the Ultrasaurus' mouth. Nearby Guardian Force members flattened against the ground as the wake of the beam blew gusts of wind through the area. The beam hit its mark.

The Hammerhead faltered. It jittered in the sky, swaying back and forth as its tail section crackled with heat. A huge hole ripped through the structure, leaving steel cables and electrical wires hanging weakly in the wind. The pink shield blinked in and out of existence.

In the end, though, the shield stayed on. The Hammerhead righted itself. It spewed smoke but continued inexorably onwards. In essence, it escaped.

And the Commissioner knew that he had made a grave mistake.

. . .

Harry called the Blitz first. "Are you watching the news?"

"Well, now we're watching your face."

Harry combed his hair quickly, but that didn't prevent it from sticking up at its usual odd angle. "We've got a lot of space in this common room, and our screen is massive. I think it would be a good idea if we got everyone together."

"I think you're right," Dr. Toros responded. He nodded at Brad who immediately stood up to contact the Red Comets. "Bit, you'll have to get Pierce and Sanders."

—

Pierce was just rolling up her tent when she heard someone approaching from behind her. She stood, sweeping all of her teal hair over her right shoulder, and caught Bit Cloud out of the corner of her eye. "Hey there, stud."

"Need any help?"

She shook her head, smirking. "But you look like you need something."

"Is Sanders around?"

She gestured off-handedly towards the Elephander, and in a moment Bit was walking away from her.

"You two can't leave yet."

"Oh? You take prisoners now?"

Bit frowned at her condescendingly, and she was surprised that those green eyes could make her feel shamed. "Well, tell me what's happened then."

"Something bad. The desert may be dangerous."

He convinced Sanders with even less words while she shrugged in confusion, and then they were all headed towards the Champ base. She had a bad feeling in her gut, and the lack of real trust she had in these people did nothing to relieve that tension. However, the guns she and Sanders normally kept on their person should be enough to give them the upper hand, at least for a minute.

_It would have to be enough_, she thought as Bit pushed open a series of doors within the vast base. She shared a look with Sanders to ensure he was on the same level of trepidation as her. Finally, Bit Cloud entered a common room, and Pierce carefully entered. She spied all the same people she'd met the night before, but whose names escaped her now. She saw the small aviator sitting cross-legged on the carpet, and the shaggy-haired man with his arm around the redhead. She also saw the man, who had offered her cake a little too often, sitting with his two team members. Feeling out of place, she retreated to the back wall, leaning into a corner as Sanders joined her.

She paid attention to the large television screen then, watching a grave-faced young man in a navy blue suit try and calm down the viewers in their homes. "Minutes ago, an unidentified vehicle was spotted flying in ZBC airspace."

The screen replayed old footage, watching as a large Hammerhead flew in an arc over the camera before a bright beam of light hit its tail. The clip cut to show the Hammerhead flying towards a white building in the midst of the desert. Its shields flicked off and it dove downward—in a moment it had crashed into the building, causing a big fiery explosion. As the fire raged, the reporter continued speaking, "we believe this to be an intentional attack on the Crescent, but we urge viewers not to worry. The Ultrasaurus has landed, and the Guardian Force are not far from the scene."

Something within the Hammerhead ignited, and a detonation shook the building, the shockwave even visible in the video. After the initial flash, the side of the building crumbled, shearing off entire levels as what remained of the Hammerhead became a pile of wreckage.

"Now we'll take you live."

Pierce's jaw dropped and Sanders immediately reached over and squeezed her shoulder.

. . .

"Where is Koga?"

With her pitchfork tongue, she licked her lips and lied. "He's watching the Deathsaurer." She swiveled, looking at her three main fighters in turn. "Negola and Ehga, I need you mobilized to lead the charges."

"Do I get top or bottom?"

"I get top," Ehga snapped, stomping from the room. Negola shrugged and followed.

"Polta, you can't leave until the CPCs are in our control. So, go intimidate dear Dr. Laon into following orders."

The blue-haired man nodded and left, leaving Fuma alone in the control room. She had one hour to take the base before the Ultrasaurus arrived, and even less before the Force stuck their noses in, and that didn't leave time for dallying. But she did spare a moment to watch the ZNN feed of her Hammerhead's kamikaze. The packs of C4 had been a brilliant addition.

As soon as she heard confirmations from her three lieutenants, she grasped the controls and eased her base's nose above the sands. The drones flew out first, massing forward like fleas towards the three charged particle cannons adorning the Crescent. Ehga followed quickly after, leading fifty members of the Desert Gang in their stingray-type Strikers. These Zoids were unable to fight below ground, and they showed up on the ZNN's monitors, meaning they would soon be targeted.

When the last of her army spilled from her mouth, she wrenched herself upwards, revealing the giant Manta Ray itself. The three CPCs were already glowing white hot, and she quickly maneuvered the Manta Ray to cover most of the Strikers. The blasts fired, two tearing along her base's back, and the other incinerating many of Laon's drones. With the last ounces of her Manta Ray's energy supply, she activated its two large antennas. They unfurled quickly, acting as props to hold up the large Zoid, effectively creating a shield for the above-ground soldiers.

While the CPCs cooled, the attached laser cannons took over, sniping out many of the stragglers. "Dark Nyx, Ehga, you almost ruined everything."

Hiding behind the wide shield of the slanted Manta Ray, Ehga thought exactly the opposite. He had a wide grin on his tanned face as he felt the reverberations of the first CPC blast. _Chaos, delicious chaos,_ he thought. The second blast was weaker than the former, and Ehga took this to mean Fuma's drones were working. "Forward!"

In a dizzying mass, the Strikers moved forward: their confusing paint scheme and shifting patterns confounding many of the ZBC's remaining sensors. It gave the Strikers bonus seconds to reach the inner realm between the curved walls of the Crescent while Fuma's drones continued their work.

"Split!" Ehga ordered, sitting center stage in his borrowed Striker while groups of the Desert Gang pealed off towards the numerous Zoid hangars. This left Ehga a sitting duck, but he figured that the remaining laser guns had more to worry about than one lone, seemingly-broken Striker—namely, the rockets that were about to be shot at those hangar doors.

Particular Strikers had been equipped as veritable tanks for the sole purpose of blasting through the enforced hangar doors as quickly as possible. They didn't wait for his command, and soon the steel entrances were smoking or hanging open on all sides. Ehga cackled. _Oh, it was too easy._

"I'm hit!"

Ehga located the transmittance and noted that the call came from the kid Jubon, who had been manning one of the tanky-Strikers. With a roll of his eyes, Ehga also saw that the kid's hangar door wasn't completely demolished. "Out of the way, fools," he growled.

Ehga increased the boosters on his Striker, accelerating as quickly as possible. The other stingrays veered sharply out of the way, and sand sprayed in all directions. Through the sudden obscurity, Ehga narrowed his eyes and pressed onward, barely missing the idiot in his disabled tank. A manic smile graced his lips.

In his last few seconds before becoming pulp between his Zoid and the steel door, he performed two orders with an insane speed. Firstly, he deactivated all the safety mechanisms around the Zoid's core, and then he ejected. His body was wrenched upward, and he flew in a parabolic arc with his padded cushion beneath him. Just as he collided with the ground, the Striker hit the last hangar door and bloomed in a white-hot explosion.

After the wave of heat passed, Ehga rolled over to view the gaping maw he had released. It was dark within, but he could see the glint of metal on many a Zoid. He waved his arm in a gesture to move in, and the Strikers swarmed. During this motion, his right hand twinged with pain, and he saw that he the tips of his fingers were broken and bloody. He'd crushed them underneath his seat and himself when he'd landed.

No matter. He could still fight with his left hand.

Ehga pulled a long-bladed knife from his boot and stalked into the hangar behind his troops. "McNair!" He bellowed.

"Yes, sir?" An older man responded, his black widow's peak prominent on his skull. The man's Striker pulled from the line of Zoids that were ensuring the hangar was clear of enemies. Weaving through a forest of half-finished and unmobilized Zoids, McNair finally stopped in front of Ehga and popped his cockpit.

"You get to lead your Desert Gang again," he sneered. "Make sure all of the hangars are secure."

McNair nodded.

"And remember, no Guardian Force member gets in."

"Where will you be going?"

"I need a new Zoid, don't I? I'm going in to get the access codes to the ZBC's playthings," Ehga gestured to the darkness around him. "In fact, I think I'll take your little Jubon with me. And if we run into a few scared interns, then, well, all the better," he grinned.

"You heard him," Jubon said as his cousin helped him from his frozen Zoid, "I get to help him storm the base." He sounded proud, and Kishon bopped him on the head for it.

"You dummy. That's the fastest way to get killed."

"I'll help stop the lasers from sniping us. I'll be a hero. Fuma will promote me!"

"You'll be shot in the head," Kishon replied drily.

At that moment that dark horse Ehga, with his messy mohawk waving in the wind, turned towards the two cousins and glared. Jubon hopped to attention and ran toward their leader. Kishon stood stock still until the two left from his view, and then he shook his head, looking out and beyond the Crescent.

What he saw surprised him. A wave of Zoids—Houndsoldiers and Gunblasters and a wave of dust obscuring many others. This was the platoon of Guardian Force members that they'd been warned about. They'd left the Ultrasaurus far behind, and bore down on the attacking Undrafted within minutes of their first strike. Luckily for Kishon, the Undrafted were on schedule in their organized attack, and he was already partially safe within the walls of the Crescent.

"McNair! The Guardian Force are here!" Kishon shouted as he ran towards his Striker.

"Away from the door!"

The other members of the Desert Gang complied, but Kishon was barely able to get within his Striker and close the cockpit before the Houndsoldiers were spilling into the Crescent. He backed away quickly, his stingray slithering through the sand and into the archway of the door as the Force's Zoids arranged themselves around all of the entrances.

One of the Houndsoldier's clicked on its external speakers and a gruff voice yelled out to him. "This is Red Bull, the platoon sergeant. Tell your Strikers to stand down, we have you surrounded."

Startled, Kishon realized they were speaking to _him_. They thought he was their leader. His mind went blank.

"Answer, or we will fire!"

Kishon could feel his heartbeat pulsing through his hands that gripped the controls in front of him. His throat remained closed out of shock and fear. _Where's McNair to negotiate with this guy? Is he launching a surprise attack? Am I the bait?! _

"Time's up!" Red Bull shouted, and the ground exploded.

It took Kishon a blood-freezing moment to realize that they hadn't fired on him. Instead, the other half of the Undrafted army had burst from the sands, piloting their turtle-like Cannondivers and Stealth Vipers and swiftly dispatching many of the Force members in the confusion.

To the side, Negola's Neo Warshark poked its nose above the sand. "So typical of someone at the top of the ladder," he said mockingly, "they always forget to look down."

—

The Commissioner moved steadily onward in the slow moving Ultrasaurus. In a preemptive attempt, he had sent the Guardian Force forward without him, hoping to quell the upstarts before they gained complete control of the complex. It had failed miserably. The lower left hand corner reserved for the platoon leader, Red Bull, had cut out a while back, and it looked like there was no hope of the Force returning to his aid.

As the Commissioner approached the Crescent, he could easier see the smoldering wrecks of the Hammerhead and the Manta Ray. They were massive constructs, large enough to think that they may never fall. It put a sty in his heart to know that the Ultrasaurus was no bigger than these. Then, as he rounded the Hammerhead's fragmented tail and cleared the billowing smoke, he finally saw with his own eyes the true horror that had taken place. Scores of Zoids littered the sand between himself and the walls of the Crescent, patrolled by an army of Strikers.

His leviathan guns, his one formidable defense, sat frozen atop the Crescent, allowing the usurpers to mark the sand in whatever way they pleased. However, when they spotted the approaching Ultrasaurus, they appropriately shrunk back in fear. Quickly, they scattered into the hangars, and the Commissioner couldn't help but slam a fist into the console in front of him.

"If I have to raze this complex to the ground, I will!"

His lead tech's frazzled face hailed him, and the Commissioner focused in on the young man. "Commissioner, we—"

An ear-splitting roar vibrated through the soles of his feet, and if the Commissioner had been a lesser man, his soul would have quaked as well. Instead, he commanded the Ultrasaurus to turn and face whatever creature had made that sound.

"Some kid with a doctorate—tell me what this thing is!"

The tech bent his head and got to work, running advanced scans as fast as the computers would let him. The creature interrupted him, cheekily transferring a nominal description of the Zoid, similar to the transparency required for warriors in the Zoid competitions. Dully, he responded to the Commssioner. "It's an upgraded Bio Raptor, modeled after a Tyrannosaurus Rex. She's calling it a Deathsaurer."

"As the Commissioner of the ZBC, I know a few things about history. That is not a Deathsaurer; it's a false name to instill fear into fragile hearts." The old commissioner frowned. "From now on, we call it a Bio Tyranno—make it public, fast. Now, some smart cookie, find me its weakness."

—

The battle unfolded in front of the world. The ZNN camera's hovered and circled, filming the sickening struggle of the ZBC's last hope. When the two dinosaurs clashed, some could almost feel the earth rumble beneath their feet.

The Ultrasaurus attacked first, its charged particle cannon ballooning in its mouth before blasting toward the Bio Tyranno. The black creature moved inhumanly fast to avoid it, sidestepping and anchoring itself firmly with its tail as the particle blast blew by it, chipping off some of its paint. The spines stretching from its head to its tail flashed red.

The battle paused while the Bio Tyranno ceased to attack, and many dared to hope the creature was all for show. Maybe all it could do was flash its teeth and whip its tail. Maybe the Undrafted hadn't expected the Ultrasaurus to be in fighting shape. Of course, their hopes were crushed.

Swiftly, the tyrannosaurus darted forward, then leapt with claws outstretched, moving more like the reptile it emulated. The Ultrasaurus was first shocked, unused to fighting against melee attacks. In the seconds left, it responded with its only capable defense; it thrust its neck to the side like a bat, and swung. It smashed into Tyranno's jaws with a _crunch_, and both giants stumbled and jittered in the aftermath.

The Ultrasaurus recovered first, angling itself so that its tail could assist in defense. Small arms weapons and lasers attacked from the wide expanse of its golden back, peppering the thick armor of its enemy.

The two giants attacked again and again; the Bio Tyranno like a feral, desperate cat and the Ultrasaurus like a boxer steadily realizing he is being hemmed into a corner against his will. Often, the Tyranno would be momentarily frozen as its spines and underbelly pulsed a bright red, but it would always recover to scar the Ultrasaurus with its claws.

Finally, as the Tyranno's teeth closed around the neck of the yellow Zoid, the Ultrasaurus' massive tail swung into the creature's blind spot. For a moment, it appeared the fight might end in the ZBC's favor. Instead, the Tyranno unlatched itself and leapt straight up, faster than anyone could flinch. The Ultrasaurus had no time to lumber into a retreat, and the creature landed on its back with another roar.

The additional weight immediately buckled the massive lugs and steel bars that held together its knees, and the Ultrasaurus collapsed into the desert sand. The Tyranno, however, continued its assault, ripping away whatever it could sink its teeth and claws into. The Ultrasaurus flailed, its neck and tail whipping whatever portion of the T-Rex it could reach. However, its thrusts grew weaker and weaker, and it crumpled closer to the ground as the Bio Tyranno destroyed more and more of its power lines.

Knowing the end was nigh, many pods launched from the remaining folds of yellow armor, immediately taking flight. Despite the ravaging being done to the systems, the Ultrasaurus still tried to track the small pods in their escape, and was mollified knowing that those soldiers were momentarily free of Fuma's wrath. When they could be humiliated no more, the Bio Tyranno finally walked off the once-golden back and circled slowly around to the Ultrasaurus' head.

"Commissioner, the Ultrasaurus is lost!" A helmeted man radioed through to the command bridge, his vid-screen image blinking a staccato rhythm of imminent failure. "I've saved you the last escape pod."

"That's not necessary, son. I go down with the ship."

The Commissioner stared forward, his sharp blue eyes focused solely on the approaching enemy Zoid. The young man flipped his visor up, staring despondently towards the elder man who now avoided his gaze. When the connection finally cut, the Commissioner allowed himself to sag, let his old bones creak as he finally collapsed into his chair.

The deadly beast approached, and when its red eyes bore through the screens and into his heart, he knew the end had come. The Lady Fuma hailed him.

"Failure is a horrible feeling, isn't it, Commissioner?" Her painted lips twitched to smile, unable to contain her glee. "I'm so glad I could introduce you to it."

"Power is an endless game, Fuma; you'll never truly attain it."

"I thirsted solely to take it away from men like you. Now I have no lords."

Their connection clicked off, and the death beast opened its maw, the charged particle cannon already bright with energy. Then—only a brilliant and unholy flash of light, and it was all over.

. . .

"There is panic in the streets of New Helic City! After losing the military might of the Helic Republic, we can only look to the leaders we have left for guidance—"

A burst of static overwhelmed the audio, and the reporter winced, showing that he heard it too. He opened his mouth to continue speaking, but the video cut into blackness. Every viewer watched with bated breath, the silence and darkness a sure sign of some new disaster.

And they were right, of course, because Fuma's face appeared on the television. She stood in front of a wall of glass, the wreckage of the Ultrasaurus and other Guardian Force Zoids smoking behind her. She smiled with familiar painted lips.

"Hello, Zi. I am the Lady Fuma, and I owe you an explanation. As the leader of the Undrafted, your reporters may call me hateful, or power-hungry, or egomaniacal. In truth, I am only returning those favors. The Zoid Battle Commission deserved a taste of their own medicine, as do a few Ultimate X pilots I can think of. In my opinion, these people have justified their wreckage, glorified their destruction, once too many. If anyone from this ungrateful and entitled group has taken something from you, then we are the same. Meet me at the Crescent. And to those of you who are too _heroic_ to join me," she smirked, "for once, come and fight someone your own size."

The screen blackened, then returned to the youthful reporter. His eyes were wide and his fingers were still pressed to the live-mike in his ear. To his credit, though, he cleared his throat and drew himself up—preparing to face the thousands of panicking families across the continent.

"Turn it off," Dr. Toros said forcefully, and Benjamin hurriedly complied.

The twenty members within Harry's common room remained numbly positioned around the room. The space held its breath, waiting for the catalyst. It came to be their youngest, Jamie, who wavered in a small voice, "What do we do?"

For a while nobody answered, because a leader isn't chosen based on seniority, on experience, or on skill. A leader just is. And everyone just knows.

Bit stood, then turned and faced them all, a determined and heated blaze in his eyes. "We fight."

. . .

As soon as the connection cut off, Fuma turned abruptly to the still-suited-up warriors around her, barking orders. "Ehga, I told you to test out the new ZBC Zoids, not blow half of them up!"

"That's how I find out the weaknesses," Ehga replied smoothly.

"Waste my resources again, and I'll be finding your weaknesses," she countered acidly. Then Fuma turned to her other teammate. "Negola, I need you on repairs. Remember the armor we confiscated awhile back? It's in crates on the Manta Ray." She pointed randomly into her audience. "You two, get them."

Jubon and Kishon nodded and ran off quickly, not too manly to show that they feared her wrath.

Finally, she turned on her entire crowd, blaming them all. "And why did my lasers not work? I wanted those Guardian fighters incinerated!"

Polta appeared at her side, mask in place. "Dr. Laon said he didn't have the time to create a hacking code—just an override bug."

"He expects me to believe the famous genius failed, does he?" Fuma snapped to the side, grabbing a fistful of Polta's jacket. "Get that traitor in a cell, and ready a portable computer. I'm sure he'll think much faster after I pay him a visit."

. . .

They traveled all day while gathered in a cluster of colorful bases. By the time the sun was setting on the horizon, the still smoking Crescent was visible a few miles downhill, and they camped beyond the perimeter like an attacking army, despite being only twenty people.

"This is the model I've made of the Bio Tyranno based off of the media's images," Jamie gestured to the hologram protruding from the center of the Blitz Team's holo-table. All twenty fighters clustered around that table to hear Jamie explain the creature they would face the next day.

"In the few minutes of data the ZBC output before…well, _before_…we know that Fuma has used the wreckage of her Genosaurers to reproduce the powerful charged particle cannon displayed today. Also, other salvaged pieces are seen here." Jamie's hologram doubled to show a rendition of a Genosaur as well, its duplicated pieces highlighting in red. "In addition, I've _recently_ learned from Leena," he cut a glance at his teammate who looked on unfazed, "that Fuma also obtained a Bio Raptor, shown here. You'll see the majority of the Bio Tyranno's body must have formed from this."

The row of spines, large claws, and pulsing red underbelly were all reminiscent of today's battle. "The only think I can't explain is the larger ribcage and jaw. My best guess is they're an engineering result of increased computational power." He hesitated, then explained. "I ran a few limited simulations, and they all show that Fuma was too lucky when fighting the Ultrasaurus. An advanced AI is the only explanation for her response times."

After Jamie's introduction, the group moved into battle strategy, and they (argued) long into the night. Finally, a consensus was reached, and the fighters trickled back to their bases until the four Blitz Team members remained.

Only then did Jamie allow himself to yawn and rub his eyes tiredly. "I've been staring at the computer screen for so long, the three dimensional world seems strange," he said.

"It was worth it," Bit responded. "Your simulations were fantastic."

Leena ruffled his dark hair when Jamie yawned again. "Rest up. Harry has this whole area locked down. If there are any sneak attacks, we'll know in advance."

She smiled, and Jamie blushed at having been so obviously nervous. To make up for it, as he was leaving he timidly said "Go, Blitz."

A bark of laughter immediately flew from Brad's lips, and he covered his mouth in embarrassment. Leena's eyebrows nearly flew into her hairline until Brad explained. "Remember when we were momentarily bounty hunters? You and Bit had an argument awkward enough for the record books? That's the day I learned Jamie had spot-on sarcasm."

"The day Jamie became your disciple in deplorable acts?" Leena asked, still red in the face.

"Disciple, that has a nice ring to it," Brad replied, pushing Jamie the rest of the way out of the small room.

Leena hesitated, throwing a sidelong glance at the sole other occupant in the room—the boy she'd been avoiding avidly for days. He looked frozen and distant, and also slightly too enticing in his red jacket. Mentally, she slapped herself and made to follow her two teammates, but Bit stilled her departure by grasping her wrist.

"You don't think something is off about that Zoid?" He questioned, glancing up at her from his position over the hologram.

She frowned, "I think Jamie's radiator plan is a good one, but I know what you mean. A plan-B would be nice."

"A Wild Weasel Assault isn't on your list?"

"My assault unit is plan alpha."

An amused smirk flitted across his face as he fell deeper into thought. As he did, his hand loosened around her and her arm dropped away. He frowned. "I feel like I won't defeat the Bio Tyranno tomorrow."

Leena snorted, "That's because we _all_ will defeat it tomorrow."

"You know what I mean." He replied quietly, and she sighed back, running her fingers lightly through the red of her hair.

"You defeated the Berserk Fury."

He grimaced again at the hologram, as if he could see the battle playing out in front of him. "That's what I was thinking about. I knew Vega; I could understand why he fought, and during the battle we were evenly matched. But when he got knocked out—I could finally _see _the Berserk Fury."

Even now he could hear the roar of the Ultimate X's in his mind's ear and smell the burnt metal. "I understood why it battled. It loved the bloodlust, and the taste of victory. The Fury didn't care what harm came to Vega or even itself—it just wanted the win. The pride, glory and vanity of it all."

Bit lapsed into silence, so Leena completed the story hesitantly. "So you were able to defeat the Berserk Fury because you knew where it was coming from?" She twisted her fingers into the bottom of her skirt. "So, to beat Fuma tomorrow we'll just figure out how to understand insanity. It doesn't sound too…oxymoronic."

He let out a choked laugh and she had to push down an urge to give him a hug.

"Stop being ridiculous, Bit. We'll win tomorrow. We always do."

She waited patiently in the quiet for a response, and for many long minutes all she saw was his pensive stare into the Bio Tyranno. Finally, he turned to look at her. "You should sleep."

The _So should you_ died on her lips. She nodded, turned, and walked away.

—

Brad made sure Jamie was safely tucked into bed before he left the young teen alone. Despite the boy's embarrassment at being treated like a child, he was just sleepy enough to be prodded along until he was snoring in between the covers.

Brad himself, however, was wide awake, and sat nervously in his room bouncing his legs. At first he tried to get comfortable, but that didn't help. So he changed into his battle outfit and paced back and forth, wondering if he could slip out for a run in the Shadowfox. Nixing that idea, he changed again, back into his normal clothes, and took a walk.

The Hover Cargo was dead silent, and he felt like a ghost in its halls. So, he crept down to the hangar, made his way through the dark, heaved the hangar door up a few inches, and rolled underneath. It was a muggy night, and sand immediately clung to his exposed skin. It was also a dark night, one of those rare occasions when both of Zi's moons were in their new phase. He would have thought the stars looked brilliant if he was in to that sort of thing.

He walked onward over the dunes within the safety of the circle of bases, the desert wind swiftly blowing the sand from him. A minute in, an external speaker clicked on and Benjamin's voice spoke to him. "Brad, you tripped the alarm. I almost fried your head! Go back inside!"

"Er, sorry," Brad responded gruffly. He turned to leave, but stopped when he heard someone call his name. Looking behind him, he saw Naomi in her red pajamas, just now leaning against her doorframe.

"Come in. I'll put on some coffee."

"I don't think that will help us sleep," Brad said with a smirk.

"I also have some chamomile tea," she replied softly.

He followed her in, and watched her set the water boiling and steep the leaves and bend over to find something in a cabinet—he enjoyed that part—before she set a steaming mug in front of him. She immediately noticed his expression however, and raised a hand to his face. "What's wrong?"

He laid his hand on top of hers. He almost replied 'nothing' but he saw the knowing look in her eye. "Jamie's just a kid. Helic, so are Leena and Bit. This is dangerous. They're going to get hurt."

"It will build character."

"Don't say that, this isn't a game," he retorted ardently.

"I know," she sighed. "You'll protect them, that's what you're here for."

"I won't be able to the whole time," he said tiredly.

Naomi smiled warmly. "I'll help you. That's what I'm here for."

Brad pulled her tightly against him, her closeness a comfort. "Then who will shield you? And don't tell me you can take care of yourself."

"Stop thinking in circles like this," she said when he squeezed his eyes shut. "You are running yourself ragged before the battle has even started." She paused to kiss him lightly on the nose, and to force him to look at her. "Just focus on me," she murmured, fingers curling into his vest. She tugged him forward just slightly, the ends of his clothes tickling her stomach. "Just on me," she repeated in a whisper. Her hands slid up along his neck, and twisted into his long hair. When her lips were close enough to breath him in she stilled, enjoying the anticipatory tingle that moved across her flesh before a kiss.

"I always do." He grumbled, and she could _feel_ the rasp in this voice. "So stay in your hiding place tomorrow. Because if I see you on the battlefield I'm going to be distracted."

His lips quirked up into a smile, and she puffed out a small laugh before his hands slid quickly down to the small of her back and tugged her in for the kiss. Naomi let out a happy sigh, and drew him even closer, the kiss heating as his tongue flicked at the tip of her own. And as much as she had tried to distract him, he distracted her, pulling her far away and into the night.

. . .

_Next time on Zoids:_

_"Jamie here. Our hands are full just fighting the Bio Tyranno, much less the countless Zoids and fresh traitors deflecting to her side. Luckily, other class warriors have joined the fight opposing her to even the odds. But I'm unsure how affective they'll be against the Desert Gang, charged particle cannons, and shifting sands. We must defeat Fuma because we have no other choice. We will defeat her. However, I wonder, can you truly break someone who's already broken? Next time on Zoids: Until Death Do Us Part—The Queen's Last Stand. How do you save those long lost? Ready? Fight!"_

* * *

><p><strong>Disclaimer: <strong>I do not own NC0. I quoted The Killers for Fuma: "licked her lips and lied." The Manta Ray is of my own creation.

**Overall **thoughts of this episode? Meh. I liked it at first, and then I read it again, and I feel meh about it. It's because there are so many POV's going on it sort of messes with my head. Luckily, all the POV's will cover the twenty good-guy warriors from now on, (and not even all of them) so that should save me a lot of brain issues and make everything flow a lot better.

Fuma's Deathsaurer...is the _original _Bio Tyranno. I'm pretending she invented it. The Blitz Team will properly fight it next episode. 0.0 Other things that may not be clear...my concept of the 'twin moon' thing for the ZBC: the Crescent is the ground base that Bit accidentally came across and Polta stole the Pillbug from in EP 4. It's shaped like a crescent moon. The other 'moon' is the Ultrasaurus which 'orbits' Zi on another base that they have in outer space. Hence, "twin moons." Agh. I just feel like a few things in the episode weren't as clear as I wanted them to be. If anything made you feel like this: : then please tell me and I'll try and do a better job explaining everything within the next episode.

Not even sure if I have a favorite part. Maybe the opening segment.

**Reviews: **Randomcat, I'm so glad the Fuma scenes got through and even hit home. They were really the purpose of the episode, and I had the best time writing them. Especially the Genosaurs scene, its a scene that's been in my head for a long while. And "We must mourn him because no one else will" gave you a shiver? That line effects me too, and I'm glad I could impart that to at least one other person! (Just by mentioning this line in your review, i ended up rethinking all of Laon's plotline, and it's drastically different!) John Doe, I like the thought that "every good story has some romance in it." I feel that you are right, and now I feel like much less of a girl forcing my girly romance onto these characters :P. I hope you enjoyed what happened with Bit and Leena today, no punching walls, the air a little clearer but still muddled...you'll just have to see what happens. I didn't intend for the characters to still be figuring things out at this stage in the game, but they write themselves! TheDragooner, I'm glad you enjoyed the Fuma scenes too, especially what made her snap. I feel like a character would be scarier if they seem realistic, compared to just randomly pure evil? And yes, they were all together for the specific moment when the SHTF and the ZBC fell. Now they get to all be epic together. Hehe, I'm glad you liked that joke. I'm always surprised when people find me funny!

**All in all**, there's still a lot of twists and turns left in the last three episodes. I hope to surprise you, so please stick around! :D I also hope to be more proud of the next chapter -_-U


	24. Episode 24

Episode Twenty-Four

_Until Death Do Us Part—The Queen's Last Stand_

_"Ready?"_

The day dawned, and with it all the tense warriors slipped into their Zoids and strode out into the light. With it, they could see that many other fighters had joined them, their team names scrawled on their Zoids like dog tags. Their S-class rivals were in the mix as well, standing tall, proud, and ready.

But for all of that, still other fighters had listened to Fuma's speech and heard redemption and retribution. They crouched on the edge of the Crescent's walls awaiting the final straw. It came with a creak heard a thousand miles; the opening bay doors and the first steps of Fuma's Deathsaurer.

It emerged from the bowels of the Crescent with a hiss, and the fight began.

It was bigger than any Zoid Bit had ever seen, possibly matching an Ultrasaurus in its height. A true Godzilla. It wasn't as tall as the descriptions from the stories of his childhood, but then again those had been meant to keep him out of the cookie jar.

It blasted something that was now ashes with its particle cannon and Bit made a small _eek_ sound. _Zoid Eve, if you exist and allow me to survive this battle, I promise to give up sweets. _

Currently fused into the Phoenix Liger, he launched upward with Jamie and Pierce, watching as the first wave of Zoids smashed together on the plain below. Fuma swung the Bio's gargantuan head toward him and bellowed:

"How many people, how many lives, how many _Zoids_ are you planning on destroying on your way to the top? Or are you not counting, _Ultimate X_?"

In time with her voice, the three Charged Particle Cannons on the Crescent's roof fired into the crowd.

"We aren't going to be able to get near Fuma with those guns blasting!" Jamie shouted over the roar of the beams.

Bit nodded, quickly glancing at the thick structures. The ZBC's additional laser cannons were conspicuously absent. "We need some heavy hitters to take them out. Harry? How are the Iron Kongs?"

A few moments passed as the prince conferred with his teammates. "The Champs and the Tigers are on the case!"

"Okay, so we might need a secondary plan," Jamie sweatdropped.

Dr. Toros chimed in gleefully, "Oscar and I will go on foot. I've been wanting to use this invisibility cloak!" He turned the volume down as he heard his daughter protest, and left Bit to give the Tigers team a quick talk. Luckily, they had agile Zoids that had many options for scaling the Crescent.

He moved quickly for his old bones (though they weren't that old!) clicking various switches and typing different commands as he diverted power from his shield generator to the massive cloaking device. No one had ever built a working one this large, and he really deserved an award over this. He'd bring it up at the next conference_—_if they all survived, that is.

"Oscar, how is it on the turret?"

Oscar grinned widely at him, before focusing again at the view around him. From the turrets position above the command center in the Hover Cargo, he could see a three-sixty view of the battlefield. Even though they were supposed to be super-stealthy, he couldn't help but squeeze off a few shots at a distracted enemy Zoid. "Veer left!" She shouted down to his friend. "Hard to starboard!"

"Those mean opposing things! Stick to aviation terms."

Despite their antics, the two fought like a well-oiled machine, and they weaved their way through the maddening field like an expert seamstress. A particular Helcat got wise to them, tracking their streaks through the dirt suspiciously. Oscar thought quick, before it got a chance to see their shimmering shield.

"Toros, circle back." His friend immediately responded, and the Hover Cargo listed to the side. "Not so sharply, don't make it obvious."

In this fashion, they were able to edge behind the Helcat just as it noticed the turn they'd taken. It swiveled with a Zoidian howl, firing into the apparent emptiness behind it. "Smart kitty," Dr. Toros said as his friend swiftly sniped it out before it could do much damage.

They were lucky that no one noticed, and their tracks were soon obscured by a quick tussle between a pair of Zeekdobers. They passed the Hammerhead's wreckage and parked in its shadow. It's smoke and fire had died out in the night, and now it provided an easy passage into the Crescent.

Before they left, Oscar and Steve sent a quick message along their group's comm-link, telling them they'd be out of contact for awhile. Then, they slipped out of the front door—seemingly appearing from nothingness—and squeezed through a crack into a dark cement room. Litter covered the ground, and they had to pick their way slowly over slabs of concrete and the occasional Zoid part.

"Oh, do you see that Oscar? It must be a new prototype for—"

"Focus, Steve! We need to find the command room."

Dr. Toros pouted, and walked onwards forlornly, glancing back at the broken head. "Bit said it's down an incredibly long hallway with portraits of past Commissioners."

Oscar grasped a steel ladder bolted to the hangar wall and shook it. It held fine, and he started climbing. "Perfect, art galleries always have a map."

—

The Champ and Tigers teams loped across the desert sand, the seven Zoids grouped together enough of a deterrent to most of the single enemies. Though a trio of Cannon Spiders were feeling lucky, and they clambered through the team with all of their eight-legged creepiness.

One landed on Mary's Iron Kong and sunk its fangs in. She shrieked so loudly that the echoes within her cockpit made her wince. In fear, she yanked her controllers widely, her Kong's arm connecting with the spider and sending it arcing across the desert before it went _splat_ on the ground. "Yuck."

The other two were taken out with surprising swiftness between the Zabrefangs. Though a blast had hit Sebastian in the chest, it had done little damage to the thick Zoidian armor. Dozens of strange Zoids like this littered the battlefield—either concoctions of Fuma's or partners to those not good enough to succeed in sanctioned Zoid battles.

Fuma's death beast was launching charged particle blasts at anything that moved on the right side of the battlefield, so they skirted its tracks and slipped within walls of the Crescent without its notice. They breathed a sigh of relief.

"So, what's the plan?" Harry asked.

"I thought you knew!" Kirkland shouted in astonishment.

"The Iron Kongs can scale the walls like a gorilla, but you can't. We'll have to split up."

Kirkland rubbed his head thoughtfully, "Bit said we may be able to leap off of the Manta Ray, but if Fuma sees us we're dead meat."

"It's a chance you'll have to take," Mary said sniffing. The three Tigers team boys glanced nervously at each other but sucked it up, breaking into a run towards the sloped side of the gargantuan Manta Ray. Seconds after their feet touched the scalded metal, the ground threw up a mass of Cannondivers and Stealth Vipers, and the Desert Gang in their Strikers streamed forward from the open hangars like an influx of scarabs.

For Kirkland, it was a manifestation of his nightmares, and he lost sight of the Iron Kongs in the tide. The stingray-type Strikers snapped at their heels, trying to climb the Manta Ray, but the Zabres were too fast for them, agilely leaping up the slope and balancing on the razor edge of the vast Zoid. Panting from fright more than exertion, he caught sight of Harry and saw one of the Kong's flatten a Striker underneath a vast gorilla foot.

"Go without us," Harry said, "we can't turn our back on these things!"

"There is no way we can take down the pylons without some muscle or firepower," Kirkland responded.

"True," Harry mused while the three Iron Kongs waged war on the stingray shaped Zoids. "Mary, you're with them. Take care of my sister!"

She squawked when Benjamin slapped her Zoid on the rump, but happily hustled to the safety afforded by the height above ground. She swung from steel ledge to stone outcroppings, smashing a few glass windows along the way, and clambered her way onto the roof. From there she could clearly see how wide the battle had spread. The head of the Bio Tyranno was nearly level with her now, and all around her Zoids clashed in a dizzying display. It was near impossible to tell who was friend or foe in the melee.

She heard a hiss and swiveled to see groups of Stealth Vipers had followed her, and they were slithering over the edge of the building. She put her Kong's fists up like a boxer, and readied her missile launchers. "Steady now, girl, you can do it," she said to herself.

From the complete other side of the Crescent, having made the leap from the Manta Ray to the roof, the Tigers team noticed her peril and shouted out to her. "Hold out, we're coming to you!"

Just as the panic of being thrown off the side of this building started to settle in, Mary saw a viper freeze in place, before crumpling into a puddle. Its friends paused in confusion, but soon climbed over it in a hastened attack.

From Naomi's position hidden behind a sandy hill, she could just barely make out the sandy colored heads of the Vipers, but knew she needed to use all of her power to help Mary, despite her actual mission. It was going against her nerves to let Brad and the others who would be up against Fuma out of her sight, but she had to believe they could take care of themselves.

Though, the swarming mass at the edges of her scope was nothing to be laughed at. "Leena, we need your guns on this mob."

The young girl answered in the affirmative, and peeled off from the group of warriors to do what she did best—blast things to smithereens.

Jamie saw this from the air, and noticed with trepidation that their group of twenty was already getting stretched thin. He worried especially for Leena who was now completely on her own, until he saw a camouflaged Command Wolf had become her silent bodyguard. He recognized the type from his research and fact memorization, and wondered, not for the first time, what S Class would have been like if the world hadn't ended.

Then, thinking the Bio Tyranno, the countless Desert Gang members, and revolutionary minutemen were all Fuma could throw at them, he found himself sorely mistaken. A slew of brand new Zoids poured from select hangars within the Crescent, Zoids that could have only been ZBC prototypes that had now fallen into the Undrafted's hands. Chief among them were a group of eagles that now flew straight towards himself, Pierce, and Bit.

The Wild Eagle took control before Jamie could even blink. The team suddenly lost their only tactician, but at least the new eagles' days were numbered. "There can only be one," the Wild Eagle said with a gritty growl. He rolled to the right and zoomed away, looping around to the side of the coming group. Pierce followed his lead, but in the other direction. "Cloud!" The Wild Eagle shouted back at him derogatorily, "Should I get you some popcorn, or are you going to help?"

Bit frowned, though he was used to Jamie's taunts when he was in this zone. One of the enemy Zoids flew at him in a blind rage, so Bit deflected the Phoenix's thrusters down to rocket into the air. When the Zoid was closer, he shut them off and let the Liger plummet onto the eagle's back, easily shredding through with his powered claws. By then, other flyers had joined Jamie and Pierce, and the dogfight moved as they drew the eagles further from the Bio Tyranno and the Crescent's cannons.

"I've got to get to Fuma," Bit replied finally, "the longer I wait, the more damage she can do." They were lucky she hadn't yet decided to destroy the bases, which were sitting ducks only a few miles away. The Crescent was still worthy enough to be defended. They really needed those guns down; he wished he could contact the Doc.

Just as Bit was thinking of radioing down to Brad, Leon, Sanders, and the Lightning Team about how they could move in, a blip on his radar caught his attention, and he flipped to the side just as a second eagle blew through the spot he had been in.

Once he steadied, he got a better look at the eagle and almost choked. The grinning face of the Berserk Fury stared back at him.

Vega hailed him on the comm-link, and Bit understandably answered warily, though he could already feel the excitement thrumming through his bloodstream. Vega stared at him innocently. "Nervous?"

"What are you doing here, kid?"

"The ZBC had something for me; this chaos was a good opportunity to get it."

Bit studied Vega and the Berserk Fury more closely now. The Liger spread its wings wider and hunched its head over its shoulders in a show of power. The Berserk Fury made no move to attack again, its great white wings still in the desert air. He couldn't tell if it was a CAS, or if Vega had somehow borrowed them from the eagles fighting further out. "Those new wings?"

Vega grinned proudly. "I call it the Buster Fury. We _fused_ with the Buster Eagle."

Bit got a bored expression on his face, "Been there, done it. I call it the Phoenix Liger." So the Fury had found a way to fuse too? That made things interesting.

"That's an uncreative name."

"I think the Fury's crazy is getting to you."

"You're trying to pick a fight with me so soon?"

"Nah, you're not ready." He grinned at the cocky smirk that grew on Vega's face. Vega would be a great help against Fuma, a sure 'ace in the hole', but there was no ignoring those big, youthful eyes and the tinny voice that proved his balls hadn't even dropped yet. "Go home kid, before your mom notices you're missing."

Vega laughed, beginning to fly away. "Don't die, Bit Cloud. I'm going to find a way to challenge you next season."

Bit snorted, then cut the line. To the black screen he mutedly said, "Yeah, that's the plan."

—

On the ground, Sanders was getting antsy. The longer they waited, the greater the tide against them became. Soon, they would be wading through a mass of Zoids, and they'd lose all their combat capability. Fuma would wipe them out with one blast. Well, Bit Cloud might avoid it still, flying around in the Liger. How many forms could it take, anyway?

He had just knocked aside a mouse-type Zoid with the long trunk of the Elephander, and _oh_ was the irony palpable, when Bit finally descended to the group of fighters.

"Time to move in, boys and girls," he said, the Phoenix's red wings blocking out the sun. "We can't wait any longer."

"Ain't that the truth," Sanders responded. But for all his bravado, he quaked when the Bio Tyranno ceased its attacks and turned to face them, as if Fuma already knew their plans. It's belly, eyes, and spine pulsed that bright red, and it closed its jaws in a toothy grin. She was ready.

"Naomi doesn't have our back anymore, so keep—" Bit's connection gained a layer of static, and a few words wove through that Sanders couldn't piece together. Confident that he could take his eyes off the battlefield for a few moments, he scanned the computers around him, wondering if he'd really just broken a sensor in the most important battle of his life.

Leon, Brad, and the Lightning team gathered closely around him, probably worried he was about to go rogue. "Really bad timing, babydoll."

His comm-link switched into high-pitched squeals intermixed with a scratchy undertone, and Sanders winced. Finally Leon's voice overlaid it all, still sounding choppy and metallic. "Can everyone hear me?"

"Like mud," Jack Cisco replied.

The video unit was down, and all he could hear was audio. Differentiating between these people he had barely met would now be an even greater challenge. Bit, despite being only a few extra Zoid-lengths away, sounded small and distant. "Some new Zoid is deploying in place of the ZBC's laser cannons. I can see them spiraling out of the roof now. They've got huge fans on their backs." The Phoenix Liger levitated higher into the air, losing the tenuous connection it had with their small group. Bit came back a few seconds later, cursing. "They must be blocking out signal; I can't contact anyone else."

"We'll take them out, fast," Jack said firmly.

"Have you ever run up a vertical wall?" Chris asked smugly.

"No," her twin sister responded, "but I'm itching to try."

The three Lightning Saix's zoomed away, already a blur of motion. Sanders watched them leave and took in the two Ligers and fox that remained with him. The four of them were no match for that Tyrannosaurus Rex. This was a bad idea. Maybe they _should_ wait a little longer.

"MOVE!"

A charged particle beam headed straight for them, spewing from the Bio's jaw. Sanders sidestepped as quick as he could, activating the shield in his trunk fairly uselessly. The beam hit the ground and sizzled, and within the monitoring system the Elephander's left side turned a deep red. Worried, Sanders jerked the controls, but the Elephander moved fluidly. It appeared the blast had been hot enough to burn out half of his electronics.

"Well, this is pointless now," he said offhandedly as he shut down that particular computer. The Bio Tyranno was running towards them in long strides, its mouth agape and its spinal spikes dispensing steam. "I'd know if you hit me regardless."

At this distance, Sanders had lost contact with all of the other warriors until Bit swooped down. All he heard was "—the plan—" before the Phoenix had pulled away. Sanders took that to mean _Do your job, wreck that thing as much as possible._

So he lowered his cannons and fired like the tank he was—big echoing booms that shattered along the Bio's legs. Pulsing that angry red, she swiveled towards him as he continued shooting. She was much too agile for him to think about avoiding, anyway. Instead, he hunkered down and tried to empty his ammo canisters.

A massive claw raised to strike him, and immediately the Liger Zero was raking its infamous Strike Laser Claw across the beasts forehead, and Leon had attached himself firmly onto the Bio's back, teeth gouging at the red spikes.

Although Bit continued to be an annoying gnat in Fuma's vision, seemingly taking up her attention, the Bio's tail struck suddenly and hard, swiping Leon from his perch ruthlessly. A fraction of a second later, its arm flashed towards Sanders, and he thrust his trunk's shield upwards to meet it. The pink shield could do nothing against the force of that blow, and the mechanism shattered into a thousand sparkles, sending electricity jolting through both the Elephander and the Bio Tyranno. In the corner of his eye, Sanders saw the Shadowfox leap and wrench another spike out of the Bio's back with a well-timed attack.

Fuma was getting overwhelmed, and she opened the Bio's mouth to gather energy for the Charged Particle Cannon. Bit didn't miss a beat, however, and sent two missiles right into its center. The explosion threw the Bio's head back, bleeding fire. "We might win this," Sanders said to himself, slightly awestruck.

But of course, that was the wrong thing to say. Fuma brought that massive skull forward in a blink, head-butting the Liger Zero and Bit Cloud straight into the sand like a swatted fly. Then she raised her foot and flattened Sanders into the ground.

**— **

Brad saw Bit go down and didn't spare a single shred of thought worrying that his friend was hurt. He didn't have the time.

Brad ran the Shadowfox up her leg, leaping onto the death beast's chest and Strike Laser Clawing a well-enforced rib before leaping away. Leon followed suit, slicing through the Bio's ankles with his Metal Zi blades. It was damage, albeit mostly cosmetic damage, but the fluid interchanging of attacks between Brad and Leon sufficiently distracted her.

She never got the chance to think to kill Bit. So, after many minutes senseless on the ground, the Phoenix Liger stood with a deep rumbling growl in its throat. Brad didn't spare a single precious second sighing in relief, because at that moment, as the Liger launched with a roar and the Shadowfox continued barely dodging the Bio's thrashing, as those healing jaws glowed red and the Blade Liger rolled into a crouch, he saw Sanders.

The Elephander was caught beneath the large claw of the Bio Tyranno, and it was slowly being crushed into the ground. The crunch of the metal was sickening, and he could hear Fuma laughing for every new dying tremble the Elephander released.

Brad jetted forward in the Shadowfox shouting, "Cover me!"

Bit swooped down into Fuma's vision, firing missiles at the Bio's nose to further distract her. In that time, Brad pulled up alongside Sanders and released his cockpit, beckoning the man to hurry and climb in. Sanders responded immediately, knowing this was his only chance at survival, but Brad noticed the steel within the man's angry green eyes. There was a sharpness in them that still made him a Backdraft warrior—someone who lived by his own set of morals, and not a long list of them at that.

Sanders was a large man, and he nearly jumped the entire distance to Brad's cockpit. It only took a few extra seconds to climb in behind him. Fuma, noticing now that her prey had gone, kicked the Elephander across the field like a toy and watched as a crowd of Strikers skittered out of the path of its shadow. Brad immediately dove away from her eye of fury, worried that he would need to start dodging charged particle beams.

The man behind him was stoic, but his eyebrows were furrowed and his fists were clenched. Despite whatever Brad could still read in the man's soul, at least he was fighting on their side. Plus, he respected a man who chose to be free, then fought to keep it. With a wry grin he said to Sanders, "Ironic, isn't it?" He saw the struggle pass over Sanders face so he explained. "I used to pilot a Command Wolf."

Sanders had the decency to look bashful. "Oh, sorry." Brad was of course referencing their first battle against the Elephander, when Sanders had nearly crushed the blue Command Wolf underneath his feet while Bit had left to change into the Jager. "Maybe it's karma." He looked out onto the battlefield. "Were you able to fix it?"

"It took a while, but yeah." Brad slowed down when he neared the coordinates he knew the invisible Hover Cargo to be. He loped around searching for the door while the shadow of the wrecked Hammerhead kept him hidden from other enemies. "I'm going to give you the passcode in, and you aren't going to use it to your advantage, right?" Brad said it sternly, almost a warning rather than a question.

Sanders agreed, and Brad explained how to get from the bottom floor into the command center and through the hatch into the turret. Sanders asked with a smug grin, "Is it unwieldy, slow, and capable of producing a giant shield?" Brad nodded. "Sounds like a fighting style already on my resume."

The ex-Backdraft employee leapt from the Shadowfox's cockpit and ran into the parked Hover Cargo while Brad turned back to the battle. Bit was still flying around the Bio, but more annoying Fuma than doing any real damage. Brad knew that act was still coming, and he just had to get back to them—

His comm-link blinked and stuttered with warring signals; Leon and Naomi both trying to contact him simultaneously. Both desperately telling him they needed him there _now_. It meant that the Lightning Team had finally succeeded against the signal-sappers. It also meant he now had to make the one decision he had desperately hoped to avoid.

"_Brad!" _Leon shouted again, "Any second now would be nice!_"_

Leon launched himself to the side, his Ligers claws scrambling in the sand as he worked to avoid the agile T-rex. Bit swooped low again, missiles crushing against the Bio's head. When Fuma reared away after Bit, Leon steadied himself, letting out an exhale. But she had only feinted, and now her tail swung a deadly blow into the Blade Liger's head for the second time that day, sending him sprawling.

"The Cannondivers are overrunning Naomi," Brad replied numbly, ignorant to the spiderweb fracture making its way across Leon's glass, cutting out most of his auto-targeting. "I have to help her."

"She can hold out until the Lightning Team returns."

"I'm going."

"She's tough—" Leon let out a ferocious curse when Brad ended their comm-link, slamming his fist into the console. "He's abandoned us."

"Then whittling away at this beast is definitely not going to work," Bit responded.

"No way; if she gets me good one more time, I might not be able to get back up."

"I have an idea…" Bit said hesitantly. "It's crazy."

"I'll say a real nice speech at your funeral."

"Keep going for the vents—take out a few in the same area."

_Easier said than done. _But the red Liger was tough, and it flexed its claws in the dirt as it sized up the Bio, whose red light was just beginning to fade as its jaw finished healing. The moment she had the CPC working again, they were both goners. Leon only had one shot at these spikes, and he knew it.

He broke into a run, pushed his boosters as hot as they could go, and accelerated towards the beast. Bit was doing something distracting near her head, but she still saw Leon approaching, and the Bio turned and and slammed its arm down into the ground.

He jumped as she reversed for a backhand, then used a leap off of the T-rex hipbone to pivot towards the spinal vents. He could see the few he and Brad had removed, but none were near each other, and the tall cones were intimidatingly clustered. Even one scraping along his belly would cause serious damage, meaning his initial plan of cutting a straight swath through with his blades wouldn't work.

Leon thought fast, and in a moment of genius latched onto a spike with a claw. His momentum spun him around in a circle, and his right-hand blade cleared out its radius.

Leon shouted "Clear!" as he fell towards the ground, and Bit arced backwards, blasting the Bio's face with his last missiles. The smoke gave him two seconds to roll left and accelerate into a high-g turn, circling around to the T-rex's back. His bones felt like lead—so heavy he couldn't move his hands from the joysticks—and the blood drained from his head.

A wave of dizziness hit him so hard his vision went dark, but through it he forced himself to mumble, "Unfuse."

The Liger Zero obeyed, and the Fire Phoenix disconnected, quickly shifting into its bird form. Unfortunately, the Liger was still within the turn, but now falling rapidly, and it's Strike Laser Claw scraped along the dinosaur's side numbly before it tumbled onto its back in the sand.

Bit's eyes refocused blearily just in time to see the Phoenix explode into a fiery ball, and in the loopy part of his brain still recovering he said _If it couldn't escape its namesake, then maybe I do have a destiny._ He heard Fuma scream in rage and pain, and when the smoke cleared, he saw the Phoenix skewered through its neck on Leon's pivot spike. The death beast went red, trying to heal, and the light made Bit's head throb again. Through slit eyes he saw the leftover Fire Phoenix armor begin to weld to the black of the Bio.

Then Leon thrust Bit to standing, hurriedly nudging the Liger Zero into loping away from Fuma's screams. The lurch almost made him vomit. His stomach heaved, but the adrenaline pushed it back down, and he laid his head on the dashboard with a groan. "Good job, buddy."

The Liger Zero growled pitifully in response, and Bit creaked his eyes open, looking down on the screen his face rested on. His Zoid was a wreck. They couldn't fight a fuzzy panda, much less Fuma's Godzilla. He pulled it together for the Liger, forcing down the nausea and headache through sheer force of will. He cringed when he forced the Liger into a slow turn and heard its joints clicking warningly.

Leon sidled next to him, head bowed. "You should get out of here."

They were silent while they watched Fuma struggle and shake as the Fire Phoenix became a grotesque lump—giving the Bio Tyranno the appearance of a hunchback. "You shouldn't stand so close; one blast could finish us."

Leon knew that to mean Bit was going to end this, even if it meant ending himself. He swallowed past a lump in his throat, coming to terms with what he might have to watch in a few minutes time. Then the Bio Tyranno began walking towards them on unsteady legs, roaring and gnashing its teeth, and Leon hurried to get his last words across. "It has been an honor."

"Yeah," Bit grunted gruffly, starting the charge of his Strike Laser Claw. The Liger Zero shuddered as its last reserves of power were rerouted, but its claws glowed that bright, iconic gold. Brighter still, as moments passed, and Leon blinked, thinking it was a trick of the eyes. Then he looked down, and saw his claws were doing the same.

A shimmering wave of energy overtook the Ligers, engulfing the pilots in a blinding light and obscuring them from the battlefield. All enemies within close range ceased their attacks, choosing to warily watch this alien glow pouring from the seams of the Ultimate X and wild Zoid.

"W-what just happened?" Leon couldn't help but stutter as the light faded, and he looked with astonishment at the Liger Zero. His own glass was suddenly not cracked, and he could clearly make out the fantastic creature, gleaming anew, with fangs as yellow as the sun, and agape in a roar that trembled in all of their knees.

"Leon, you've given me a lot of tips during my time on the Blitz Team, but now I'm finally going to give you one." The white Liger moved forward, its limbs lithe and well-oiled, stalking towards its enemy with fearful majesty. A spark of something glinted in the beast's red eyes. "Stop thinking so much."

"We're healed!" Leon blinked in shock. "Did you do that?"

Bit shook his head 'no', an amused smirk on his lips. Suddenly, he laughed. "Did you say 'It has been an honor'?" Not caring to look at Leon for a response, he guffawed again, wiping tears from his eyes. "Thanks Sir Leon, Red Knight of the Zoidian Realm."

"I'm glad this is all a joke to you."

"It isn't," Bit replied, an excited gleam in his eye. "You're just finally privy to my pregame routine. Now I'm ready for a _real_ battle."

He leapt and attacked, another roar tearing past the Liger's maw. Fuma responded with a wretched howl, stumbling to meet him. "I had you! I beat you!" She had eyes only for him, chasing when he ran, jabbing again when he dodged. "Die, Ultimate X!"

She reared her head back and fired a charged particle beam, creating a trench where the Liger Zero had just stood. Without waiting she charged and fired again, swinging her head back and forth as he ran. "I worked harder; I was supposed to win!"

The steam was building up within the Bio Tyranno, and with the Fire Phoenix blocking most of its openings, it now whistled from the remaining ventilation spikes. It was a high-pitched screech that was soon joined by an incoherent wail as the CPC sputtered and ceased. The Bio's belly pulsed an erratic red as its attempts to heal met with failure.

They could hear the Lady Fuma screaming and sobbing in equal parts as her Deathsaurer slowed to a stop. It was heart wrenching and painful to hear, to _watch._ Then its ribcage opened, unfurling like an oyster, electric sparks spilling like a fountain and dancing across the desert ground. The steam billowed out, and when it cleared the pearl was revealed: the pearl that should have been a secondary Zoid core, a black box, or even just a large computer chip but was none of these things. Gray flesh was suspended above the core, floating in some liquid from which stemmed hundreds of silvery wires.

It was a human brain.

Bit felt his mouth fall open. His chance to end this beast was staring him in the face, but he was frozen in place. He could barely think.

She had manufactured her organoid. She was crazy. He could have killed them in a heartbeat and it would have been justified but despite the hot-blooded battle it felt too much like cold-blooded murder and it was _too much_—

But the beast decided for him. The Lady Fuma's shrieks choked and stuttered, and in a hoarse whisper she said, "K-Koga, _why_?" Then the Bio turned its claw inward and crushed the brain itself. The bright red light pulsed once more as it tried to use Fuma to stay alive, and then both beast and master died without a sound.

—

Leena was fighting the hordes of gang members when the call came out that the Lady Fuma was dead. It was a klaxon in her ears; her blood rushed and deafened her. The stingrays, vipers, and turtles pulled back into lines: eyeing her, eyeing each other. Her friend, the invisible Command Wolf, remained behind her back, silent and watchful. "Is it over?"

A very familiar round Zoid blew through the ranks—Polta in his Pillbug—and he rolled right past her, probably shouting orders at the remaining troops, even as he slunk away into the desert. Quiet dissention passed through them, the fighters almost willing to surrender. She dared to hope.

Then her brain caught up with the emotion. They didn't look like they were hesitating. They were listening to a speech, they were being rallied. Where was the rest of the Fuma Team? This wasn't over—not in the least.

The Desert Gang realized that as well, and they leapt forward, swarming, furious in their leader's failure. Her thumbs went immediately to her assault guns, firing rapidly into the crowd.

The Undrafted's anger was apparent, and they swarmed and writhed like a chaotic sea around Leena and her allies. She had to turn the tide, literally, before she was overrun, and without making the conscious decision her fingers began dancing over the controls, aligning dozens of targets on her visor. They flipped red, locking on. "Wild Weasel Total Assault Unit!"

Her Gunsniper exploded in its classic attack, bullets emptying from her back mounted cannons while rockets flew from her missile pods. She had been nearly out of ammo, so the attack wasn't up to her usual standard. Additionally, many dove beneath the sand, confusing her controls and causing her fire to hit the ground uselessly. She laid waste to those she hit, however, and in the continuing confusion knew there was no more opportune time to reload. She'd tried before to send a comm-link through to her invisible benefactor, but the Wolf had ignored her. So now she sent brainwaves, hoping to impart that she would return shortly.

Her Gunsniper sprinted through the field as she heard Leon updating her through their communal channel. It proved the fight continued despite the unmoving hulk the Bio Tyranno now was, though the undulating mass around her had been proof enough.

She caught the now visible Hover Cargo and circled around. "Sanders, let me in!"

"No please and thank you from the princess?"

"Don't make me come up there, bud!"

Sanders chuckled, and the hangar door creaked open. When she ducked under she yelled, "Shut it behind me!"

A single Striker thought his time had come, and tried to squeeze under the rapidly diminishing space. The tan stripes adorning its body were a great camouflage outside, but stood stark against the hangar's metal, especially when the door landed on its back. The stingray wriggled, trying to edge its wedge its way in further, but Leena's cannot lowered right into his face (ammoless, but he didn't know that). "Still feel like a hero?"

He didn't answer, but he ran like a coward, going into full reverse and scraping away from the doors that now pleasantly slid shut. "I impress myself more every day."

Despite the pleased grin now gracing her features, Leena ran her Gunsniper into the mobilizer unit, parking it in place. Then she flipped the cockpit open and jogged across the empty hangar towards the small computer unit. She quickly arranged the ammo refill, the commands piling up as they waited to complete. Despite her rush, this was going to take awhile. Gunsnipers weren't meant for these types of loadouts after all.

Despite the battle going on outside, and the sound of her own breath came back to her seconds after, echoing in the vast garage. So, when there was a large _bang _as the hangar door kicked into gear, she almost shrieked. As it opened Leena crouched behind the lectern, her heart in her throat. Her fear was groundless, however, because it was only the Liger Zero, backlit by the bright sun, walking majestically into the garage. _No Striker even thought of following him_, she groused to herself.

The door closed behind Bit, and then it was easy to see the beating his classic white armor had taken. He stilled when he saw her as well, taking in the machines whirring around her Gunsniper as the ammo refilled. _We can't become the Schneider until this program finished running._ The Liger realized this as well and slid the cockpit open so that Leena was no longer forced to stare at its impersonal tinted glass, and she caught Bit running a tired hand through his hair.

"How'd you defeat her?"

He shook his head slowly, eyes closed. "She defeated herself."

"I'm guessing it's a long story," she replied.

A loud _boom_ reverberated through the room and they both cringed. The distant sound of machine gun fire started up as Sanders defended the Hover Cargo and the battles continued on without them. "She's dead, but they're still fighting_. _I thought destroying the Bio Tyranno and besting Fuma would be enough."

"Me too," Leena agreed softly. "But I realized something when the Desert Gang attacked me again." She tapped her finger on her lip as she struggled to find the phrasing. "She was a martyr while she was still alive. They never fought for Fuma, they fought for her message._"_

He nodded slowly. "To them, it has always been _win or die. _Just like it was for her." Bit lapsed into silence, and his eyes faded far away as he lost himself in a thought. Absently he rubbed his palms over his temples, obviously in some sort of pain.

To see him, Leena had to arch her head so far back that, when she swallowed, it hurt. Tension coiled in her gut, partly for the grey storm of the overhanging battle, but mostly for the fear with which she beheld her weakness. "Bit," she whispered. He slowly dragged his eyes from the ground and she met them with a hint of surrender in her own. "Please just be careful."

She saw something flicker across his face, but she turned quickly, grimly setting the machines to stock her final missile pod. She heard the thump when he leapt from the Liger, and the sound of his boots on cement as he approached. Then he was tugging at her arms to whirl her around, and there was such an intense look in his eyes that her breath caught in her throat.

He kissed her and didn't leave much room for rejection. Like he was making up for lost time, his hands were already sliding along her back, pressing her tightly against him, and suddenly everything was the hard line of his body, the slight stick of his sweat, and the need of his kiss. When the machine dinged behind them, he pulled away, and she found her fingers in his hair.

For half a second he didn't let go—just pressed his forehead to her and breathed. "You dummy." His hands smoothed back down to her sides and along her hips. "You're the one that should be careful."

Then their brief moment was over, and the Liger Zero roared, bounding forward to pick up Bit as the two prepared to become the Schneider.

Leena, for her part, hadn't much time to think either. Her Gunsniper was begging to be mobilized, and her comm-links had just blown up with chatter, and within the cacophony—a dire theme. She heard Jamie: "_It's...enormous,_" and her father: "_That's not possible in so short a time span." _

But it was her brother that was the clearest: "_Bit, where are you? We need you out here **now**_."

. . .

_Next time on Zoids:_

_"Leena speaking. You missed some important parts of the battle, namely, anything including me. And what of Jamie, Brad…Harry? I hope they are all right. But I'll that worry slide in favor of my father, because without him, we wouldn't stand a chance against this surprising foe. Next time on Zoids: Eve—The Angel Loses Her Wings. And someone bites the poisoned apple. Ready? Fight!"_

* * *

><p><strong>Disclaimer: I do not own NC0. The idea of a conscious floating brain I got from a creepy Ronald Dahl short story.<strong>

**I **enjoy this episode so much! It's crazy! Hopefully you feel the same!

Quite a lot to comment on. One, did it surprise you that Fuma is already dead and defeated? What's next? Did Koga's brain surprise you? I hope so. I hope you balked and wondered if you read that wrong. So weird. What a mess she was. But I like Bit and Leena's conversation about it in the end; I think they are about right.

Have you noticed that someone is dying every episode? The trend will continue.

Bit has a concussion, and he got it from being swatted like a fly by Fuma's head-butt. The high-g maneuver did nothing to help the matter. He's going to be in bed for a week (if he makes it out alive).

Oh! And did you see the Fuzors hint? Vega got his hands on a Buster Eagle :) I wanted to hint at what may happen in a "Season Three," namely, the beginnings of what would eventually become the Fuzors timeline in the anime series. (Though I must admit to never watching it.) I've got a few other S3 concepts, but I'll expand on those later.

Are you wondering what healed the Ligers? / Other questions that I don't want to spoil. I hope you're asking them. I hope to answer them next time. I hope you sat on the edge of your seat and were surprised, and will continue to sit on the edge of your seat and be surprised next time...

**Reviews: **Player Zero and john doe, did you see, Bit and Leena finally figured it out? Did it live up to expectations? Are you pleased? I am; I very much am. And Bit didn't have to punch a wall this time. Also, john doe, I'm very glad the leader scene reverberated. I combed over those few sentences many many times to get them to sound and flow right.

There are a lot of images this episode that are very bright in my head, and that I hope you see too. Bit getting swatted like a fly. The glowing Ligers. The red hunchback on the partially healed Bio Tyranno. The Fuzors facing off. The Tigers team running along the Manta Ray. Koga's brain. Leon's pinwheel move. Yet, despite all of that, I think my favorite part is still the kiss scene. I'm a romantic at heart :)

See you in two weeks... :}


	25. Episode 25

Episode Twenty-Five

_Eve—The Angel Loses Her Wings_

_"Fight!"_

Leena had not yet had the pleasure of seeing Fuma's Bio Tyranno close up. Though, when the beast let loose its first Charged Particle Cannon and broiled away the desert, she gained the distinct displeasure of knowing the smell of burnt Zoid.

Jamie, Pierce, and Bit had already launched their flyers into the air, and Harry and the others soon headed out towards the Crescent, set on destroying the ZBC's laser cannons. Her father left soon after, making a path towards the wreck of the Hammerhead within his invisible Hover Cargo. She had been unable to dissuade him going; he had cut her off before she could even finish speaking. The nerve…from her own father!

"Lighten up, little sis'," Leon smiled at the frown he caught on her face.

"We need to be serious. I have half a mind to go rogue and wipe that smile off of your face."

"You are a walking oxymoron."

"And you are impossible," she grouched, moodily having her Gunsniper give him the cold shoulder while half-heartedly scanning her targeting system over the surrounding area.

There was a burst of sound and commotion, and her and Leon turned their heads towards the Crescent, which now spewed hundreds of Strikers. They washed over Fuma's feet like a wave, spilling in a fluid crescendo, and began across the expanse towards them.

Leon glanced up at Bit, then at the Lightning Team and Sanders that surrounded him. His eyes settled on Leena who was now fully focused on the incoming tide. She had already known it would be her job to protect the other warriors' backs as they fought the Deathsaurer, even though they had all agreed to try and fight side by side.

"Leena—good luck. I know you can do it."

"Thanks, Leon." Then, dryly, "Just don't block my comm-link too."

Now the Strikers were only a few hundred yards away, and Naomi inevitably called to her. "Leena, we need your guns on this mob."

"On it." Before her words had finished traveling through the ether she had launched, propelling herself on her Gunsniper's long legs towards the battleground that had caught her eye. She fired a few warning shots from her Gatling gun while in motion, gathering their attention and keeping them from veering off. "Hello boys, you remember the Leena Special unit, don't you?"

She put both her fingers on the triggers, and missiles flew everywhere. They fell on the approaching Strikers like a rainbow of bombs, and it was beauty to her eyes.

At this point she'd definitely caught their attention, and that was where things got dicey. They tried to circle around her, but she quickly put her back to the frozen Gun Blaster she'd spied. With the giant Ankylosaurus Zoid to protect her, she wouldn't have to worry about them jumping on her head. The Blaster's porcupine-like array of guns on its back would be impossible for them to navigate.

Then it was all in the dance. They'd move forward and she'd push back, a continual twist of the feet to keep the majority in front of her and mercy to her weaponry. She was even being careful with her ammo—well, maybe not. She _did_ enjoy watching the husks pile up…

And, of course, that small bit of vanity had been her mistake. A bright red Striker launched itself off of a ramp made of its downed teammates, and she only had time to see it block out the sun before it landed on her side, knocking her to her knees. It was a moment of vulnerability that they cashed in on, and the swarm closed in, weighing her down.

She struggled with the controls, a bubble of fear and dismay in her throat. _I lost too quickly!_ She turned her head from side to side, searching for help, and her eyes caught a shadow within the Gun Blaster. _There was a pilot inside_.

A howl pulled her attention away—the howl of a Wolf—and an invisible blur shot down from the Blaster's back and made quick work of the closest Strikers. She was left to shoot her way to standing. Though she was a tad annoyed that this Wolf had waited so long to help—and indirect help at that—she couldn't deny that the pilot had skill. The Wolf moved so quickly and so expertly; the only way to guess its path was to see its trail of destruction.

Suddenly the blur landed in front of her, and she recognized the hazy outline and the small head that gave her an appraising glance. A Command Wolf, with a male pilot (because it had to be a man who piloted a Zoid that stood with such cocky confidence and eyed her with such swagger.)

"Hey, thanks." She tapped into his comm-link, but he didn't respond. She couldn't even access his vid-screen, so he must have been blocking her.

In the lapse of her concentration, a beam fired and knocked out a nearby Striker. With a wave of astonishment she realized the Gun Blaster, however much it may have looked it, wasn't truly out of commission…it was sniping in plain sight.

The Wolf looked at her, then at the person hidden within the Gun Blaster. _T__hey were teammates._ Then he leapt back into the battle, and she followed.

"Jamie, I'll be tied up for awhile. I'm sorry, good luck with Fuma."

"As if I need luck," the Wild Eagle replied with an air of distraction, giving her a wink before separating from her link. He rolled quickly, flipping out of the way of a group of missiles. "Cloud!" He yelled back at Bit who had lagged behind instead of fighting with him against these Eagles. "Should I get you some popcorn, or are you going to help?"

"That's what I'm here for," Pierce responded with a smirk. Then she jerked her chin towards the friendly group of fliers close behind her.

"Oh great, cannon fodder. I mean…how lucky for us, you've brought a group of Pteras'. That will surely have them shaking in their boots."

Five of the new enemy Zoids altered their trajectory, and the Wild Eagle immediately knew they were tracking him. He pulled the stick back, tilting his nose upwards and launching himself upward to prevent them from surrounding him. The Buster Eagles stopped playing coy and hit their thrusters, climbing in altitude along with him.

Altogether they formed a large cone in the sky, he the point and them the base, and as a group they tossed the cloud layer to the wayside.

At this height Jamie was running out of options. He couldn't rise much further, and if he leveled out they'd catch him before he could attack. A normal pilot would have called for backup, or just gave in and ejected. Jamie would have seen the reason in either of those choices. The Wild Eagle's tactics, though, did not contain any weak-spirited solutions. If he needed to attack, he attacked.

Four of the Wild Eagle's missiles spiraled up into the air, chugging little smoke trails behind them. The air was getting thin, and his engine's available power began to taper out; the Raynos started decelerating. He was losing maneuverability with each passing second, but so were his four missiles. They wavered in the air above him, spiraling unstable, then lost their energy and tumbled back down towards him.

The Wild Eagle grinned. These Buster Eagles were about to understand why so many of his enemies ended up on their back wondering what went wrong. The Raynos swiveled and pivoted and danced between the bullets, hiding them from his enemy's eyesight until that last possible moment, then corkscrewed away.

The Wild Eagle knew, however superb the Zoid, its pilot was the limiting factor. One Eagle fell prey, unable to dodge, and the missiles bloomed along its body.

He smirked. "When am I going to get a challenge—Whoa!"

Just as he'd broken the cloud barrier, with the four eagles trailing him, he'd almost broken his beak on a blue and white hawk-type Zoid. "Pierce! Where did that Hurricanehawk come from? It wasn't on radar!"

The Buster Eagles were just as blindsided by the new Zoid, and Pierce took advantage of it by flying right through their pack and taking another enemy out of commission. "It's S Class, from the Bitegriffon Team. Maybe you should take notes."

The Wild Eagle grumbled under his breath, and Pierce laughed loudly as she took her Stormsworder into another area of the battle.

Jamie was very humble. So the Wild Eagle was very _not._ He was going to defeat these last three eagles without any help from a stupid little _hawk._ He just needed a wild idea. And there it was: the perfect opportunity. It was down below him in the form of a dozen Stealth Vipers, twelve oblivious snakes who were going to play right into his hand.

The Wild Eagle dove, and his last three pursuers followed suit, closing in behind the Raynos quickly. Although the dive was high speed, and he closed in on the Crescent in record time, the straight path was to his disadvantage. In seconds he heard the beep of their targeting system and the whine of flying missiles.

It lost the Wild Eagle his last few precious seconds, the ones he needed to end this battle swiftly. Dodging too early would be futile; the eagles already in his slipstream would have ample time to dodge his trap—the wall of cobras littering the Crescent's roof.

He adapted quickly—sacrificing a tactic and rolling ninety degrees while tucking his wings in. "Kirkland, jump!"

Kirkland heard the call through his comm-link, and glanced upward in a moment of confusion. He was graciously provided the terrifying sight of a Raynos, three Buster Eagles, and fiery missiles bearing down on his head. But where he normally would have cringed, some reflex obeyed and he jumped, heaving his Zabrefang and the two Stealth Vipers crawling along his back a full ten feet in the air.

In that precise second, Jamie swept by him at full tilt, angled so drastically that their cockpits nearly brushed. The Wild Eagle had a wicked grin on his face, a grin that stayed behind Kirkland's eyelids even after the missiles slammed into the Vipers on his back and nearly wrenched him over the edge of the wall.

His claws scrabbled for purchase on the sleek metal, but just as they caught a Buster Eagle slammed into the roof only feet from him, the force of which swept him cleanly off of the edge. The back of his mind reasoned that the flying Zoid must have lost control while maneuvering in the close quarters of the roof, wiping out the remaining Vipers in its crash, which was lucky for the rest of his team. "Fat lot of good it does me though," he mused aloud, "since I'm falling to my death."

His brain caught up with the sickening lurch of his stomach. "_To my death!?" _

He shrieked, and Mary came swinging out of the yawning blue to catch him in her huge Zoidian palm. Together, they re-enacted a scene from King Kong until his last scream died down.

"Are you alright now, damsel?" Mary asked cheekily.

Kirkland blushed in shame, "Yes." Lineback's laughing furthered his humiliation, but a pretty flutter of Mary's eyelashes in his direction bolstered him. Back in leader mode, he was able to look around the rooftop and determine they were safe for the moment, though that wasn't the case for Jamie. "Two against one, you think he'll make it out on top?"

The Wild Eagle cackled through the radio waves. "I could eat two eagles for breakfast!"

Omari's eyebrows inched up his face. "I certainly hope not."

"Is it pylon breaking time yet?" Mary asked innocently, smashing one gorilla fist into another.

"I think I'm in love," Omari said, supplying his teammates with a nauseatingly wistful sigh.

"Stop falling in love with every girl in your air space. You don't stand a chance!" Kirkland pointed at the nearest pylon. "Now let's destroy these Charged Particle Cannons!"

—

Directly below the feet of the Zabrefangs, just a few levels down, Oscar and Dr. Toros crept through the bleach white walls of the Crescent. It was a vast building, but they had quickly covered lots of ground in their search for a way to control the ZBC's Charged Particle Cannons; the deep rumble that went through the base following each firing was enough to spur them on whenever they felt discouraged.

"I'm positive we passed this painting before. I made fun of this guy's mustache, didn't I?"

Oscar raised his eyebrows. "Negative, due to impossibility." Steve gave him a look that said _Oh, and what makes you the expert? _"We can't go in circles in a semicircular floor plan, after all."

Another _Boom! _echoed through the corridor, and both men looked at each other in bewilderment.

"Could that have been the CPCs again? It sounded so close," Oscar said.

"Maybe it was the laser cannons—or maybe the Tigers team actually blew something up."

The aviator had his head titled to the right, still listening. "No," he mused. "It was a handgun."

Steve looked pensive, then, in a flurry of movement, grabbed Oscar's overalls and hauled them towards the sound. "Whoever it was must know their way around this place."

"Superb. Let's just get _closer _to_—_" Oscar was cut off as a nearby door swished open; he and Steve barely having time to hurtle into the nearest open doorway. They held their breath as the man with the still-smoking gun walked right by them.

Oscar let out a breath of relief, while Dr. Toros whistled quietly. "This lab is a wreck."

"Can we please focus on our potential murderer?"

"But look…Zoid models…" Oscar growled his name in the background, but the Doc ignored him, walking quickly over to a small Whale King. "This is the Great Whale King!" Dr. Toros flipped the model in his hands over, astonished. "It must be Laon's..."

Oscar waited quietly while his friend turned new eyes on the broken lab. Finally, he said, "Our lead is getting away."

Dr. Toros nodded quickly, stuffing the model into the pockets of his lab coat. "You're right. The longer we take, the more things get blown to smithereens."

They inched out of the doorway and steadily followed the mystery man's fading footsteps. Together they climbed three more levels before the man finally stopped in front of a wide set of metallic doors. They heard him cursing as he had trouble with the fingerprint scanner before he was allowed to enter.

"That must be the command center," Oscar said, nodding towards the doors.

"And that must be Polta." Steve finished for him, having recognized the former Backdraft pilot. "Now we just wait for him to leave."

"Or we bust in."

The two good friends exchanged a glance, betraying their slight fear. But they both nodded simultaneously. "Ready?"

"_Go."_

The three Saix's fell into step, accelerating towards the first enemy Zoid.

The Lightning Team had to get rid of whatever was blocking the communication channels, and they had tracked the source to the roof of the Crescent, and these strange Dimetrodon-type Zoids. Their enemy was long, with a huge bladed fin along its back. It wasn't a Zoid Jack recognized, but it didn't look very fast, so it would lose in the end anyways.

Jack pulled ahead and the girls fanned around him—giving him cover as he went for the first strike. He leapt, claw outstretched for its laser attack, but the enemy pivoted and swung a charged tail right into his side.

He tumbled, Strike Laser Claw digging into the roof, and the pilot, an older man, called him through the vid-screen. "A sleepy attack like that isn't going to stop a Dark Spiner," he said smugly. "It's not just a new Zoid, it's a new _breed_ of Zoid. Three against one might help you, but…" his voice trailed off and he shrugged, smiling cockily.

"His name is McNair," Chris said, using the grainy signal only usable in close quarters. "He's the Desert Gang's leader."

"What's he doing up here, then?" Jack grumbled, getting to his feet. He quickly measured the distance of the roof, deciding that while there wasn't as much room as he would have liked, there was definitely enough. "Let's try that hurricane thing."

"It's called…oh forget it." Chris rolled her eyes. Kelly chuckled as she leapt to race around the Dark Spiner, her teammates quickly melding into her circle. They sped up, faster, until they were a whirling torpedo of metal, sure to confuse their enemy.

McNair stood placidly, an amused smile on his face. He let them have their fun while he moseyed his machine guns into position. All he'd have to do is fire straight, and he was sure to hit one of the three. Then the remaining two would crash. _Like d__ominos,_ he thought happily. He expected better tactics from the famous Lightning Team! Oh, well. He'd just have to use his imagination when telling the story later tonight.

He held down the triggers, but he was so caught up with his fantasies that he didn't immediately notice he'd missed. He had barely a second to blink before bullets were raking against his right side. He swiveled to face the Saix, but another round hammered him on the left. He froze in anger, and their circle reconvened.

"So that's how you're going to play it, huh? Wait for me to strike? I'll show you a strike!" He launched two missiles into their path, blowing a crater into the roof. Knowing they'd dodge and attack, he immediately swiveled to his right, catching a Saix barreling towards him.

When McNair had decided to break the floor, Kelly had leapt over the hole while Jack simultaneously ran towards the center to attack. It was his turn anyway, and he thought he'd properly get his claws into him this time while McNair was distracted. Not so.

It was really his fault for thinking McNair would fall for the same trick twice. When the Dark Spiner turned towards him, Jack could only jump while hoping to clear the spines along its back. That, embarrassingly enough, failed terribly as well. The Dimetrodon charged its teeth in a surprise Electron Fang attack—tearing into his back legs. His Saix tumbled and smashed through the sheetmetal array of fins along the Spiner's back, landing on the roof covered in circuitry.

His leg was sparking, but the Dark Spiner was definitely the worse for wear with the Lightning Saix sized hole in its fan. McNair turned to him with fury in his eyes. Then Kirkland yelled for his mother.

"Excuse me?" Kelly asked.

"Mommy?" Kirkland replied, just as shocked.

"How are you…you're too far away." Jack stared around himself in confusion, though the look Chris gave him and the broken electronics underfoot quickly clued him in. He turned his back on the machine guns aiming for his head.

"And where are you going?" McNair shouted, firing.

Jack's Saix burst forward, his hind legs pushing him like a coiled spring. The shots rained down harmlessly behind him. "You weren't much fun. I'm going to try my luck with the other Dark Spiners."

The Dark Spiner lurched forward, but the Tasker twins flitted in front, both firing their back mounted cannons. As McNair reared away with a roar, the girls nodded to Jack.

He nodded back, activating his ion booster and accelerating around the curve of the Crescent towards the second Dark Spiner. If those flimsy spines were the only thing causing all the radio interference, then, by Zoid Eve, he was going to turn this tide, and _fast_.

. . .

_Ba-dump._

"Curse you Nyx-drinking empire-bitten mongrels…"

_Ba-dump._

"I need backup!"

_Ba-dump._

"Why won't anyone answer?"

Naomi clenched her fists around the controls for her tail unit, sweeping her scope back and forth across the desert. Her heartbeat mimicked the pulses of radar, and with every pump, more enemies speckled her screen. She couldn't see them, but they were swarming her.

It wasn't a fluke. She'd seen those other Zoids attack the Guardian Force from below ground, and they'd decided to turn their sights on her. Maybe they didn't like someone watching their every move. Who would?

She checked her ammo reserves. Not nearly enough. But she wasn't one for full-frontal assault regardless; if she stayed smart she could get in their heads, maybe scare them off. How she would do that without her comm-link working would be a feat unto itself.

_Just stay calm. _Her neck was starting to hurt from holding this position on her stomach for so long. _No it wasn't._

A purple fin breached the surface of the sand, and she flinched. Luckily she saved the bullet. Were these all Warsharks?

No—two sets of fins rose from her left, and she realized what she thought were fins were truly flippers. A bulky head rose between them, followed by a thickly armored shell. Turtles. _Cannondivers._ Much less to aim at for a successful shot, but she could definitely get her bullets into those fleshy joints. She fired.

If her bullet hit she didn't know, because half a dozen turtles surfaced and turned their searchlights on, blinding her. Knowing she had seconds, she curled her tail towards her and laid her Gunsniper flat on the ground just as a volley of beams flew overhead and into the rock beneath her.

Her perch gave her an advantage for now, and she hoped to use it to its limit before those beam launchers pulverized it. So, she inched her way to the right, wasting precious time as the next wave of turtles formed closer ranks as their brethren covered them. They didn't even need to shoot her. If they got close enough, they could just bury her. Tactically brilliant.

Well, almost. Any average shooter could wipe out a semicircle of sitting turtles. Maybe they couldn't while blinded, but Naomi was no average shooter.

As soon as the next set of beams crunched into her rock, she raised her tail and fired six shots at where they _had_ to be. Five went down. The lights dimmed. _Not bad_. As the enemy adjusted in shock, she took advantage. A quick reload and another six shots—another six down. "Hah, let's see you try and get closer now—" _Missile!_

No time to move, or even shoot it out of the sky. It landed directly below her, and the rock crumbled.

There was one moment of weightlessness, then the jarring slam of the ground. Her Gunsniper landed on its back, and she as well, falling from her padded chair and landing with a thud on the curve of her Sniper's spine.

_They're moving, they're reloading…_ she repeated to herself in a rush of adrenaline, brought on by just a twinge of panic. It was a fuel like fire, and with it she arched her back off the former ceiling, slammed her face back into the scope, and started shooting.

. . .

Steve Toros and Oscar Hemeros burst into the room, wrenching the sliding doors aside and leaving them sparking.

What they had believed was a command center was instead a nearly empty room. Metal, snakelike cables threaded through the ground and ended at a nondescript pillar in the center of the room. Besides that, there was only an array of doors leading to a new maze of hallways and rooms. No Polta, and nowhere for him to hide.

"What do you think it is?" Steve asked in wonder.

The two men edged around the pillar, stepping carefully over cables. "Can we focus on Polta, please?" Oscar asked, putting his ear to a metal door and creaking it open to peer into the room beyond.

Steve, who so far had been _completely unhelpful_, choosing instead to gape at the garden ornament, now turned to grin manically at him. "It's a resonant transformer…with a helix!"

"So…a time machine?"

Steve shook his head, turning adoring eyes back to the coil-pillar. "So much power…"

"Is it a weapon?" Oscar turned back in disbelief. "For the Ultrasaurus?"

Dr. Toros wasn't listening. "I'd go evil for this. You think this is what Laon was after?"

"Steve…you're drooling."

Dr. Toros was just reaching his hands up to touch the pillar when a door slammed open behind Oscar. A cold barrel touched the back of his neck.

"Hands up!" Polta sneered at the good doctor from behind Oscar's head. "You really think you could follow me without my knowledge?"

Both men slowly raised their hands—not that they had any weapons to fight with anyway. Steve's eyes slid back and forth sheepishly. "Dr. Laon here, just poking around."

Polta was frowning, and the light glinted off his white mask and he slid it off to glare at him. "You are not Laon, now start talking."

"I taught him everything he knows," Dr. Toros continued nervously, grinning.

"I know who you are," Polta sneered. His hands whitened on the butt of his gun, and he growled. "You're Steve Toros of the Blitz Team." He jerked his gun to smack Oscar in the head with it. "But who in Helic are you?"

"Custodian."

For some reason that ended up being the cue. Steve laughed loudly and dove behind the transformer. Oscar sidestepped and elbowed Polta in the gut, then turned and delivered a ferocious uppercut. The gun fell slack from Polta's hand, and Oscar quickly kicked it across the room.

Polta recovered enough to lower a shoulder and slam into his sternum. Oscar stumbled backwards, but he was able to get a good punch into Polta's side, tripping the blue-haired man further. Rather than continuing the wrestling match—he really was too old for this—he turned and ran towards where Steve had disappeared behind the pillar. Hopefully that doctor was smart enough to realize two against one were much better odds.

He glanced over his shoulder to see Polta gritting his teeth while holding a hand to his ribcage. His lips pulled back in a snarl, and his expression was murderous. The blue-haired man took a few threatening steps forward, slowly pulling a long knife from another holster. Then it all went wrong.

Electricity arced through the room, running through Polta as if he were a lightning rod. The dads had a moment to fear that they all were about to be fried alive, when something even more terrifying happened. The air _opened_.

Between Polta and the transformer, space turned pink and crackled, ripping out from nothing. It was an energy—so ancient and dense with power that it forced the two men to their knees.

Steve's head ached and buzzed. And this could have been his head exploding—but he could swear he felt the Whale King toy in his pocket _move._

Polta howled in anguish and collapsed to the ground. The light screamed closed.

The silence was so extreme that Steve checked his ears for blood. Polta scrambled away from the pillar like a madman, choking and shivering. His back hit the doorway they'd entered from, and his eyes flicked from the pillar to Steve. They were wild, with just a hint of pink around the edges of his pupils…

Then Polta stood and fled, leaving the two friends alone.

. . .

The Cannondivers hadn't let up. They stood where another had fallen, firing their beams. Most hit the rubble. Some hit her. But that was okay. New angle. More shooting.

"Naomi?"

"Brad?" Her throat was raw. Only then did Naomi realize she had been screaming an inhuman warcry. "_Brad!"_

"What's wrong?"

"_Cannondivers!"_

That was all she could spare. They were getting so close. Any closer and they'd just be big blurry shapes in her scope. A mass of white shells, grey guns, and purple underbellies. She just kept firing at anything purple—until she couldn't.

A dark mass rose from the ground, but her one shot ricocheted of the shadow, then it fell over her and she saw nothing. A part of her knew that a Cannondiver had crushed her sniper. It was terrible—not seeing her attacker. Not knowing where its gun aimed, when it would fire. Every second was agonizing. She was dead.

But the hit never came. There was a crunch of metal…an eerie howl…Brad's face in the monitor. The overwhelming rush of gratefulness and relief she felt was enough to make her lightheaded.

He covered her as she fumbled for her forward controls, raising her Zoid to standing as her chair creaked into position behind her. She shuddered, murmuring _thank you Zoid Eve_, when her small handgun blinked green. Her Gunsniper lurched into position next to Brad.

The Shadowfox kept firing, and Brad met her eyes through the comm-link.

She could form no words, but her expression may have been enough. What she saw, reflected in him, had been. Her throat felt thick and her heart too big in her chest. Even as she returned to battle she blinked back tears, because she knew, _knew_, she would never have to face the world alone ever again.

. . .

"You sure this is the corridor he came from? It's a dead end." Oscar said.

Steve nodded in return, running his hands over the back wall of the hallway. He wouldn't put it past these people to have a secret trigger. "Why don't you help me?"

"I'm keeping an eye on that transformer."

Steve shrugged and began poking at various rivets in made up patterns. Oscar knew it was strange to have a hallway for nothing, but anyone who built a creepy pillar that could rip open space could build as many hallways as they wanted. He thought it would be more productive to go back and search the other paths leading away from the transformer room, but was hesitant to return and possibly be transmogrified into fried chicken.

He turned back to his friend, who was dancing around animatedly now in his code-breaking. He smiled bemusedly and leaned against the wall—or, at least, tried to. He fell through, you see.

His muffled yelp of surprise brought Steve over. The good doctor looked at the paneled walls and where Oscar now sat. "Genius!" He cried. "An optical illusion. There's a corridor behind the wall!"

Oscar stood and dusted himself off. Why could scientists never be straightforward? They were all crazy.

The two men walked down the dark secret passageway. There was one sharp L turn, and then they emerged in a bright office through another architectural anomaly. Oscar's eyes almost lost the opening as he looked backwards, even though he'd just passed through. Steve immediately went to the computer at the desk, and Oscar moved to the giant glass panels lining the back walls of the office. He could look out on the two ends of the Crescent and the battle being waged on the grounds in front of them.

"You better not tell me I fought through this entire Crescent just for box seats." He turned back to his friend. "What was Polta doing on the computer?"

"He connected to one of the hangars…started mobilizing a Zoid."

"The Pillbug?"

Steve shrugged. As he did, a Charged Particle Cannon blast fired from overhead—a bright line of light that scoured a path through a group of Zoids.

"That's a good reminder of why we're here," Oscar said. He gestured at the computer. "Hurry and override them."

Steve bent to his task, and Oscar moved to the vid-phone, fiddling with the dials. He wanted to find the team's radio channel; they'd been out of touch for awhile. "Anybody hear me?" He asked the airwaves.

"Got it." Dr. Toros said, and Oscar abandoned his task. Toros pointed at something on the screen. "They've been tampered with. If you manually reboot them, I can replace the original software."

Oscar nodded and quickly scanned the base's map. "You're staying here?"

Steve nodded. "I'll watch you through the cameras. If you run into any trouble I'll turn on the sprinklers."

"Thanks." Oscar said dryly. As he left, he checked the right pocket of his aviator jacket, wrapping his hand around the hilt of Polta's gun. He knew Steve wouldn't have approved, but what the good doctor didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

Dr. Toros turned back to the monitor, but was soon distracted by faint voices coming from the vid-phone. He scooted over and grinned when he caught sight of the Tigers team. "Hello, Fuzzy Pandas!" He said cheerily.

The three men looked at him in surprise, and Toros turned up the volume.

"There's been a change of plans. You now need to defend the guns, not destroy them."

"What?!" Kirkland yelped. He had just landed from Strike Laser Clawing the first pylon, and Mary had drawn back a fist to smash it.

"All three!?" squealed Omari as he stared out at the great distance between the towering structures. "We'll be spread too thin. I, for one, always need backup."

"Oscar and I are going to have control over them soon. It's a good thing you four were slow at your jobs."

Lineback glared at him, and Dr. Toros grinned back cheesily.

"Alright," gulped Kirkland. "Omari and Mary, stay here. Lineback, you cover the middle. I'll take the opposite side."

"We'll cover that one; though a sitting duck in King of the Hill has never appealed to me as good tactics." Jack Sisco interjected.

"Not his cup of tea," Chris said.

"Though, Jack doesn't drink tea," finished Kelly, she and the rest of the Lightning Saix's speeding towards the left side of the Crescent.

Kirkland and Lineback began their run too, their Zabrefangs lithe enough to avoid the groups of enemy Zoids. Kirkland's heart was beating fast, and he kept muttering to himself that this was just like the courses Leon and Bit had them run through—except for a few more bullets than he was comfortable with.

When the two teammates finally made it to the central gun, Kirkland immediately put his back to it and aimed his guns at the Stealth Vipers that listed around them. He laughed a little manically. "Why did they stop fighting back?"

"_Scaredy-snakes!_" Lineback shouted.

The force of Jack's glare through the comm-link shut them up. "_Look._"

They did. Every Zoid on the field had frozen in place, foes and friends alike turning their heads towards a pillar of smoke. It rose from the Bio Tyranno.

"_It's over!_"

Harry shouted gleefully. "We won!"

The self-proclaimed prince turned to his two robots who only blipped at him, which could have meant a lot of things. The swarm of Strikers, the sand-stingrays, still surrounded them, and he supposed that the enemy was calculating whether numbers were still on their side. Then he felt the ground shift.

"What is this?" He wondered, and the robots looked down at their feet, watching the sand spill as if they stood on a beach and a wave was rolling in. A divet in the ground grew longer, and the sand began to fall faster. It struck Harry suddenly. There was a door _in the ground._ "Move!"

His shout galvanized the trio and the horde of Strikers around them. Suddenly the air was filled with a stampede of Zoids fleeing the quickly disappearing ground. They were running up one massive door whose opening formed a slope that grew steeper every second. Over his shoulder he saw the same, a swarm of various Zoids clawing their way up a cliff face. Harry turned his attention forward in time to see Sebastian leap over the hinge and feel a Striker slam into his chest.

Time had run out—the earth had abandoned him. He grasped Benjamin who caught Sebastian's hand—the Iron Kong's arm the only thing keeping them from falling into the pit. They swung out over the void as the last few Strikers tumbled past them.

"I can't lift you," Sebastian said tearfully. "I'm slipping."

There was the grinding sound of metal, and Harry didn't know what awaited them below. If he had had no morals, he may have realized that he could climb his robot's Iron Kongs like a tree, though the scramble would likely push them over the edge.

Sebastian's Iron Kong slipped a few inches lower, and sand spilled around him. Harry looked at his two robots, whom he knew as friends and could read well despite their ambiguous metal faces. Both were terrified. "You won't have to lift us," Harry said soberly.

He let go, and he fell into soundless dark. He saw the sky framed by the awful doorway then hit metal. His Iron Kong landed on its side and he was wrenched left. His ribs cracked on his restraints and he blacked out.

Far above him, Mary screamed.

As she and the Tigers team watched Harry fall, a small Zoidian head broke the curtain of darkness, raising slowly over time on a long neck of armor as white as bone.

"Is that…" started Kirkland.

"…the Ultrasaurus." Jack finished.

Dr. Toros felt a stone fall into the pit of his stomach. "That's not possible in so short a time span."

The Ultrasaurus had risen to show the curvature of its spine, and with the emergence of the titan the enemy was revitalized. They turned with impassioned glee back into the battle.

How could Fuma have fixed the giant that quickly? She had so many cards. All he had were the guns...and Oscar…_and Laon_. Where was Laon? Not on the battlefield…

Knowing it could only mean one thing, Dr. Toros whirled back to the computer. He began bringing up the hundreds of video feeds, opening and flicking them away as he found them empty. With a cold feeling in his chest, either terror or hope, he thought _Maybe Laon is in the Ultrasaurus_.

"No." Then, with relief: "There you are." Laon's iconic dark overcoat wrapped around him as he lay on the ground…sleeping?

The walls around his friend looked dingy and cold, and he wasn't moving. Dr. Toros then knew with a certainty that someone had hurt his friend, and he abandoned Oscar's journey to blow up the footage from Laon's lone camera. He rewound, and when he caught a shock of blue hair moving quickly through the room he stopped and let the video play at normal speed.

It started in the middle of a conversation. Polta adjusted his mask and looked down on Laon, who was sitting, looking dirty and beaten down. Laon said, "I don't believe you."

Polta shrugged. "Believe what you want. The Liger Zero is finished." Laon turned his head away, his lip curling. "The CPC's worked much better today—Fuma knew you'd come to see it our way. And that's not even the best part!" He squatted down conspiratorially, whispering. "We found the armor."

Laon didn't react.

"You know," Polta continued, "the new Ultrasaurus armor you designed, and tried to hide from us." He grinned. "It's a fantastic set. I doubt the Bio Tyranno could have defeated the Ultrasaurus so easily if the ZBC had the time to switch the armor." He patted Laon on the shoulder, and Laon flinched. "To think—we would have used the ZBC's extra set! After Fuma exploited its weaknesses on national television! The Blitz team might have stood a chance." He laughed.

Polta rose, and from his pocket pulled the gun that he had later wielded against Steve and Oscar. He leveled it at Laon's head.

"Minutes ago we finished outfitting the Ultrasaurus. It's perfect. Unfortunately, that means you've outlived your usefulness. Any last words?"

Laon blinked once slowly. Took a deep breath and let it out. Then he turned to look into the camera and seemed to lock gazes with Dr. Toros. "My Whale King is still my finest work."

"Crazy old man," Polta said, and then killed him.

. . .

Bit tore through the battlefield in the Schneider, running straight for the hulk of the Ultrasaurus growing from the protective arms of the Crescent. The five blades in the Schneider's mane were thrust forward in the powerful Buster Slash attack; any Zoid that tried to head him off was ripped cleanly in half.

The comm-link was filled with his teammates. Jamie was rattling off various battle strategies that ranged from wild to impossible, Leon was shouting coordinates while trying to round up anyone available, and Mary was wailing. He turned them off.

"Are you ready, Liger?" His Zoid responded with a thrumming growl.

He reactivated the comm-link when they skidded to a halt in front of the Ultrasaurus as it rose the last few feet. The sturdy floor it stood on was littered with Strikers, and as Bit watched the floor locked into place with the groan of moving metal.

"Harry!" Benjamin shouted, pointing at a sparking Iron Kong amidst the rubble of Zoids. He and Sebastian immediately ran for their downed friend, scooping up the out of commission Zoid.

The Ultrasaurus let them scurry beneath it, then the head bent down until Bit could see the man inside the cockpit.

"Ehga." He said with acid, the Schneider roaring in unison.

Ehga shrieked, euphoric in his battle high. "Bit Cloud! _How I Have Waited!_"

. . .

_Next time on Zoids:_

_"Bit Cloud. A part of me knew that this wouldn't be over until I'd faced Ehga and Negola too. Even without the Lady Fuma, the Fuma Team is something to be feared, and this time I don't have Koga to fight my battles for me. I'll face the second moon by blade or by foot. You ready, Liger? I am. Let's finish this. Next time on Zoids: The Miracle of New Century Zero. The end is only ever another beginning. Ready? Fight!"_

* * *

><p><strong>Disclaimer: <strong>I do not own NC0.

**I **didn't realize this until I'd already done it, but in my desire to hint at S class teams and battles, I ended up introducing you to a few of their new rivals. In the S class, they deserve new rivals don't they? I think so. Jamie's is the Hurricanehawk. Brad's is the Command Wolf. Leena's is the Gun Blaster. And Bit's is the Buster Fury. But speaking of Vega…

I realize not everyone was pleased with the way I brought Vega in and out of the story. My intentions and the way it came across was completely different. Considering that Vega fainted in their last battle, I think it's pretty understandable that he wants to get stronger and better before he faces Bit again. However, he also doesn't care if Fuma wins or loses. Vega is just concerned about his future battle with Bit, and with winning that battle. And, boy, are they going to have some awesome battles and an epic rivalry over the next few years. That's the feeling I wanted to get across, so I apologize for not succeeding. The best Vega story I've ever read is called Consumed by randomcat23. (I didn't realize you'd written it randomcat23 until just now!) So, if anyone is feeling gypsied, I recommend it. **  
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Also, since I _did_ have plans for Vega, just not for this story, I'll be sure to focus drabbles on him in the epilogue portion.

Brad and Naomi deserved it their fighting scene, and while it wasn't detailed, I still thought it was great. Jamie was fun to write, as he always is. I deleted the written part of the Lightning Saix running up the vertical wall, it just never sounded good in words. Remember that they're epic.

Oscar and Steve are always fun, though their scenes were a mix of very difficult and very easy to write. They were pretty much the only important plotline in this whole chapter -_- In case it wasn't clear…well there was no way it was clear…but that energy that Polta accidentally activated is what reanimated the Ligers. In my head the ZBC have been trying to harness the power of the Zoid Eve. It's because of the secret Organoid Wars that have never been explained. It's a plotline that extends into season 3, the epilogue. Also, the pillar was a Tesla Coil.

Harry isn't dead. I thought it was pretty amazing how he would have given his life for Leena in the show's finale, but then they completely took away the seriousness of it. I surprised myself by bringing this back in another way. Harry would have died to protect his two robots. I think that's so honorable, and it's definitely in his character. However Harry may have annoyed me in the show, he is now redeemed in my eyes.

Laon is dead. Polta killed him and is definitely not a good guy anymore. He's the evil guy of season 3. I think it's still ambiguous just how good or evil Laon was, and I planned on explaining this chapter, but it just didn't fit. It's better explained at the beginning of the next chapter.

The Ultrasaurus is the true final battle. Maybe you expected it, maybe not. But it's going to be great. After running around seeing small battles between the other characters, we're going to get back to Bit and the Liger Zero and some epic. Also, some Brad, instead of Leon this time, because he deserves some epic hero too.

**Reviews**: Gojiralee, now Leerex, again, sorry for dismissing Vega. Definitely read Consumed if you haven't already. Also, thank you for PMing me and reminding me to keep true to my word of finishing this story. Player Zero, I'm very glad you enjoyed the BL scene, I thought it was great. I couldn't be happier. And yes, I too hope they stay unhurt through the last chapter. :) john doe, so happy about your glowing review, it makes me warm inside. I'm really glad you enjoyed the buildup for Bit and Leena, and that the brain scene creeped you out haha! I know this chapter could not have flowed as well as 24, but 26 will definitely live up to expectations. Guest, thank you so much, extremely nice review. I do try and go over my grammar as much as possible, and only leave 'and' and 'but' at the beginning of a sentence if absolutely necessary :P I'm always happy to have a reviewer who thinks I've done justice to the characters, and who enjoys a good BL smooch! Randomcat23, super glad you enjoyed Red Bull, and the Doc's shrine! I chuckled too when I wrote it, which just shows how crazy I am. I see now that you were interested to see what happened to Laon…sorry for killing him? Tell me what you think. Also, very glad the brain thing creeped you out too! And that you reread it haha.

**So** I think I need to close this off with an apology. I really have no excuse for saying one thing and then falling off the face of the earth. I can only hope that I haven't ruined the story with my long lapse, and that you all will find it in your hearts to forgive me, return, and read the ending. I also wish I could have returned with a chapter that I liked better, but unfortunately I can't. It's a little bit of a filler chapter, so I apologize for that too. I promise the next one is going to be good, I'm excited to write it. And I won't disappear this time. Anyone who has come back to read this chapter and gotten this far into the author's note, thank you.


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